Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence
by ebb in and away
Summary: Only a few students at Dalton knew about the girl that helped pull the Warblers back from the edge of collapse. Most of those who knew about her didn't know how close she constantly was to collapsing herself. Again.
1. Chapter 1

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Chapter 1

Sebastian walked down the halls of Dalton, thinking about how inferior to him many of his fellow Warblers happened to be. He was on his way to practice when he turned a corner and collided with someone. He muttered a half hearted apology, ignoring the fact that the girl he had knocked to the ground was shaking and gasping for air, clearly not well.

David had been on his way to practice with Trent when he saw the crumpled figure on the floor. He immediately approached the person, gasping as he realized who it happened to be.

"Trent. Go get Nick. Now!"

Trent left at a run, knowing that only the girl's brother would be able to help her.

Beatrice had been fine until colliding with that guy. Now, she was seeing the events of her attack several years before. Each little detail came flooding back.

"Nick!"

Trent burst through the doors to the practice room. Nick looked up in alarm.

"Trent? What is going on, what's wrong?"

"It's Beatrice. David and I found her on the floor by the front doors, she looked like she was having another flashback."

Nick ran out the doors, Trent hot on his heels.

Jeff walked into the practice room, unaware of what had happened until he got a text from David. Sebastian was sitting on one of the couches, clearly not worried about anything. Jeff looked at him and the other Warblers in the room.

"Beatrice is having another flashback. Practice might be postponed."

He then ran out of the room, missing Sebastian's eye roll and completely lack of concern.

Nick and Trent had reached David and Beatrice. Nick immediately dropped to his knees and David moved so Nick could reach her.

"Come on, Little Bit. You're safe. You are safe and loved. I won't let them hurt you ever again. Come back, Little Bit. Please."

Beatrice's shaking slowed as Nick talked to her, reality coming back to her as her big brother's voice cut through the terror and confusion.

Jeff had reached the group minutes after Nick and Trent, feeling worried until Beatrice's shaking came to a stop. He and Nick had been best friends since elementary school, so he had practically grown up with him, helping to take care of Beatrice occasionally when Nick's parents went out. Beatrice was important to him, more important than anyone could ever truly know.

Beatrice had finally come out of the flashback, still feeling a little shaky, but better now that her brother had her wrapped up in a tight hug. She was a little bit confused, but that was normal for after one of her flashbacks. Nick released her and stood before gently lifting her into his arms and following David and Trent back to the practice room, Jeff walking beside him.

When David, Nick, Trent, Jeff, and Beatrice finally reached the practice room, it was empty. David sighed before pulling out his cell phone to text the others to come to the meeting. Warblers started filtering into the room, most of them having met Beatrice and knowing about her flashbacks. Right as David started the meeting, Sebastian walked into the room. Beatrice, who had been sitting next to Jeff since she no longer felt right sitting at the council table without Wes there, was reading a book that Nick normally left in his bag in case she decided to surprise him with a visit before practice. She looked up when she heard the door shut, then froze, her face going pale. Jeff, who had just been about to stand so they could practice, saw how pale she had become.

"Beatrice, what's wrong? Beatrice?"

Nick looked over when he heard the slight note of panic in his best friend's voice, then hurried around the council table to his sister.

"Little Bit, what is it? What's wrong?"

Beatrice gripped Nick's sleeve, her eyes tracking Sebastian's every movement. Sebastian turned and saw her.

"What is she doing here?"

His tone was less than kind, and Jeff noticed.

"She is Nick's younger sister. She has been coming to meetings for years now, since Nick joined the Warblers. Do you know her or something?"

Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"I ran into her on my way here."

Nick whirled around, staring at Sebastian for a moment before turning to David and Thad with a pleading expression. Thad sighed.

"Alright, Warblers, practice for today is canceled. Most of you will understand why, I'm sure."

The boys walked out of the room, several of them stopping to pat Beatrice's shoulder or give her a small smile on their way out.

Sebastian remained seated. Once everybody excepting Beatrice, Nick, Jeff, Trent, and David had left, he spoke.

"Would anybody mind explaining to me what is going on here?"

David started texting, sending a message to Wes in the hopes that he could visit since he was on spring break from college. Nick, whom Beatrice was still refusing to let go of, looked over at Jeff, silently asking him to explain as much as he deemed safe. Jeff nodded.

"She had an...incident a few years ago, right before Nick joined the Warblers. The first meeting that she attended was when Wes had started his first year on the council. Nick's mom had to work, as well as his dad, so their mom dropped her off with Nick, the only option that was really available. Nick explained what had happened to the council, and they immediately accepted the idea of her sitting through the practice, as long as she didn't become a huge distraction."

Jeff smiled as he remembered what had happened during that meeting.

"The council had sat down and were giving feedback on how we were sounding as a group when we all saw Wes look down. Beatrice had sat on the floor behind the desk so she wouldn't be a huge distraction, but she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. For some reason, Wes seemed to make her feel safe, so she had fallen asleep by him and her head fell into his lap."

Nick, who had been talking to Beatrice and Trent, spoke up.

"I remember that that was the day when I felt like Wes was truly a good person and friend. He didn't scold me or Little Bit, he just let her sleep and made sure that the gavel tap he used to dismiss the meeting was very soft so it wouldn't scare her."

Just then, David got a text from Wes: "When your phone rings, put it on speaker phone."

David smiled and waited. Just as Sebastian was about to ask another question, David's phone rang and he immediately put it on speaker phone. Wes's voice filtered through the speaker, immediately catching Beatrice's attention.

"Coffee, not tea. Honey, not butter. That's what makes the heart flutter."

Beatrice was beginning to smile and let go of Nick so she could approach the table. Now it was her turn to sing the song that she had wrote with Wes as a way to pass the time during the day he had visited Nick at their house.

"A grain of sand, not salt. A drop of rain, not a ray of sun. That is when I feel my day has truly begun."

Wes's warm laugh floated out of the speaker before he spoke.

"Come find me, Nick's Little Bit."

Beatrice looked to David for permission to grab his phone. Once she had permission, she grabbed the phone off of the desk and ran out the doors. Nick sighed.

"Shall we go after her? I know that I want to see Wes soon, and I'm guessing you guys do too?"

David smiled.

"You read my mind. Come on, let's go see how he's fairing against her enthusiastic hugs of greeting."

Beatrice was running down the hall, excited to see the former council member. She rounded the next corner and saw him at the end of the hall by the front doors. She stopped abruptly when he held up his hand.

"Go slow. Be ladylike."

Beatrice stood up straight and slowly approached. By this point, the boys who had remained in the practice room had caught up to Beatrice. Beatrice was halfway down the hallway before Wes spoke again.

"Oh, come here you!"

A grin spread across Beatrice's face as she broke into a run again, flinging herself into Wes's waiting arms. A small smile was on each of the other boys' faces, excluding Sebastian, but Wes's mouth was stretched into a huge grin as Beatrice clung to him. The others approached when Beatrice let go of him, still staying close. The boys greeted him enthusiastically before introducing him to Sebastian. Wes shook hands with him before turning to Nick.

"David said she had another flashback today?"

"Yeah. Apparently she collided with Sebastian."

"Ahh."

Wes looked to David next.

"Are Blaine and Kurt coming to visit or do we have to go to them?"

"They're on their way now. I texted Blaine so he could tell Kurt that he would be meeting someone."

"Good."

Wes finally turned back to Beatrice.

"Let's go curl up on a couch in the practice room. Come on, little one."

He held out his hand which Beatrice immediately grabbed, and everyone, except for Sebastian, headed back to the practice room to wait for Blaine and Kurt.


	2. Chapter 2

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. These become more detailed as the story goes on. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Chapter 2

Upon reaching the practice room, Beatrice dragged Wes over to one of the couches and looked at him.

"Cuddle? Please?"

Wes smiled softly.

"Of course."

He sat on the couch and let Beatrice curled up in a ball next to him, clearly feeling much better than she had been. Nick smiled at the sight of his little sister being so relaxed in comparison to her normal wary look. David spoke up.

"How's college going?"

"It's ok. Busy, but that's nothing new."

The boys shared a smile, none of them a stranger to having lots of school work.

"I got lost on the first day though. On my way to the first class."

The boys burst into laughter.

"Oh, come on. I only got lost once, and the campus is enormous."

Blaine and Kurt chose this moment to walk into the room. Beatrice smiled at the sight of Blaine, but didn't move from her spot. She looked over to Nick.

"Who is with Blaine?"

Nick smiled.

"Do you remember me telling you about Blaine getting a boyfriend?"

"The one who originally was supposed to spy on you guys?"

The boys chuckled as Kurt turned slightly pink.

"Yes."

"His name was...Kurt?"

Kurt looked astonished that she would remember his name, especially since she had never met him.

"Yes, Little Bit. That is Kurt."

Kurt, who had been warned by Blaine not to approach her without Nick giving him permission so he wouldn't send her into a flashback, was surprised when she rose from her seat and approached Blaine, who was still holding hands with Kurt. Beatrice tilted her head to one side, clearly curious about something. Blaine smiled at her and waited. "Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

"Did he go through similar stuff to you?"

Blaine's smile faded slightly.

"Yeah."

Beatrice hugged Blaine quickly before turning to Kurt. She was biting her bottom lip, noticeably nervous about something. She took a step forward before holding out her arms. Kurt looked at Blaine in confusion.

"She wants to know if it's ok to hug you. When I first met her, Nick had warned her not to hug me too tightly because I still had cuts and bruises. She wants to make sure that she won't hurt you if she hugs you."

Kurt's eyes widened.

"Really?"

Blaine smiled.

"Really."

Kurt held out his arms hesitantly, and Beatrice slowly stepped forward and gave him a very gentle hug before stepping back.

"It's nice to meet you Kurt."

Beatrice turned around and curled up next to Wes again, resting her head on his lap.

"It's nice to meet you too."

Kurt still wasn't sure how to respond to her. Blaine led him over to an empty couch and they sat down, Beatrice watching Kurt carefully.

"Blaine? Why is she staring at me?"

Blaine smiled and whispered back.

"She's trying to see what body parts you favor so she doesn't hurt you if she hugs you tighter next time."

David spoke up.

"How are things going at McKinley?"

Kurt sighed.

"Not much different from the usual."

Trent changed the subject.

"What if we all go get ice cream this weekend? You know, since we're all together?"

Everybody was explaining that they were free when Sebastian walked in. Wes spoke up.

"Sebastian, would you like to go get ice cream with us tomorrow? There's an ice cream shop near by that we all like, and it might be good to get away from Dalton's campus for a bit."

"Sure."

Blaine stopped Kurt from protesting.

"I'll explain later."

He whispered. They both stood up.

"We'd better get going you guys. It's a long drive back. See you tomorrow."

Beatrice stood and flung herself into Blaine's open arms, giving him a tight hug before turning to Kurt. Kurt hesitantly opened his arms again, bracing himself so he wouldn't be knocked over when she leapt at him. She didn't. She stepped forward slowly and gave him a gentle hug. Kurt and Blaine left and the others slowly filtered back to their dorm rooms, David inviting Wes to stay in his dorm while Nick and Jeff went back to their shared room; Nick carrying an exhausted Beatrice.


	3. Chapter 3

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Chapter 3

"Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened to Beatrice?"

Kurt and Blaine were on their way to Kurt's house for dinner. It had been a mostly silent ride so far as Blaine concentrated on his driving and Kurt worked through the events of that afternoon.

"I can't say. I promised Nick when he told me that I wouldn't tell anybody unless there was an emergency. I can tell you that it wasn't rape, but that's all I'm allowed to say."

"Will I ever find out?"

Blaine considered for a moment.

"You might. Most of the Warblers find out eventually, and you were a Warbler for a little while."

"Is the attack what makes her act like a little kid?"

Blaine chuckled.

"No, apparently she has always had a more child-like response to the world. The attack certainly didn't help, but Nick says that she was like that before…what happened, happened."

Nick and Jeff had reached their dorm with Beatrice and were now waiting for her to get out of the bathroom. Nick had called his mother to let her know where Beatrice was and that she would be staying, and she had readily agreed after he had mentioned that Beatrice had had another flashback. Beatrice walked out of the bathroom in a spare set of pajamas that belonged to her brother and walked over to him.

"I'm going to take a shower, ok Little Bit?"

Beatrice nodded and hugged Nick, then sat on his bed as he went into the bathroom. Jeff sat on the edge of his bed, facing her.

"Are you excited about our trip tomorrow?"

Beatrice smiled.

"Yep."

Jeff chuckled.

"Any idea what flavor you're going to get?"

Beatrice considered.

"Jeff? Do you still have the list?"

"Of course."

"Can we look at it together? Please?"

Jeff laughed.

"Sure."

He pulled a sheet of paper out of his nightstand drawer and walked over to sit by Beatrice. Beatrice studied the list, then looked up at Jeff.

"What are you planning on getting?"

"Three scoops of orange sherbet. You?"

Beatrice frowned.

"I'm not sure yet."

"Well, do you know how many scoops you want?"

"Two?"

"Alright, do you want them to be the same flavor? Or do you want two different flavors?"

Beatrice paused, considering.

"Two different flavors."

Jeff smiled at her.

"Ok, I'll tell you what. If you can figure out one of the flavors you want tonight, I'll let you try mine tomorrow and we'll see if you want that to be your other flavor. Alright?"

Beatrice grinned, clearly pleased with this plan.

"Ok."

They went back to studying the list, Beatrice leaning against Jeff. Nick emerged from the bathroom and grinned when he realized what they were looking at.

"Plotting ice cream choices already?"

The two sitting on his bed looked up and grinned.

"Of course. You know how much thought needs to go into this."

Jeff was holding back laughter, Nick could tell. It didn't bother Nick though. So many people laughed at his sister, and he hated it when they did, but Jeff had grown up as a regular fixture in their household. Jeff never meant to mock Beatrice. The more Nick thought about it, the more he realized that Jeff was actually the only person who could fully understand Beatrice besides himself. Jeff's happy nature and seemingly limitless enthusiasm made him the perfect friend for Beatrice. Nick knew that Jeff had always picked ice cream flavors carefully, either according to his mood, or according to his never ending curiosity towards new things. Jeff wasn't laughing at Beatrice. He was laughing at himself. Nick moved to sit on Beatrice's other side.

"Have you made any progress?"

Beatrice nodded enthusiastically.

"Jeff's getting three scoops of orange sherbet."

Nick laughed.

"Kurt's going to look at you like you've gone mad again, you know that."

Jeff's grin became mischievous.

"That's part of the fun."

Nick shook his head in amusement as he looked at Beatrice again.

"And what are you planning on getting?"

Jeff answered for her, using a terrible imitation of a French accent.

"Your Little Bit is going to be getting two scoops of ice cream. One will be mint chocolate chip. The other has yet to be determined."

Nick's eyes widened.

"You guys really have made progress."

Both Nick and Jeff understood how difficult it could be for Beatrice to make decisions. Jeff dropped his fake accent, which had already made Beatrice start laughing.

"She normally wants mint chocolate chip, it is your favorite after all. She's going to try a bite of mine when I get it so she can see if she wants that, or if she wants something else."

Nick nodded.

"Alright, Little Bit. Go to the bathroom, and then come back so I can tuck you in."

Beatrice ran into the bathroom and shut the door. Nick turned to Jeff.

"Dude, thank you so much for helping me take care of her."

"It's no problem. You know she's more than just my best friend's sister to me, right?"

"You count her as a friend, yeah."

Jeff shook his head.

"Well, yeah, I do, but that's not what I meant. I've almost always counted her as a little sister. Are you ok with that?"

Jeff looked nervous. Nick smiled at him.

"I'm definitely alright with it. And I'm pretty sure that she looks at you like an older brother."

Jeff was stunned.

"Really?"

Nick nodded.

"You're one of the few people that she was never really afraid of."

Beatrice came out of the bathroom then, walking over to give Jeff a tight hug.

"Night, Jeff-Jeff."

Jeff smiled.

"Goodnight, Beatrice."

Beatrice crawled under the covers on Nick's bed, scooting over to make room for Nick. Jeff and Nick each crawled into their beds.

"Goodnight, Jeff."

"Goodnight, Nick."

Jeff leaned over and flicked the light off. There was the soft glow of a nightlight shining through the doorway of the bathroom, just the right amount to help Beatrice feel safe.

"Goodnight, Beatrice, my Little Bit. Love you."

Beatrice let out a yawn, then turned to curl into Nick's side.

"Goodnight, Nick. Love you."

Before long, all three were asleep, perfectly content with a scene that had been part of their lives for years, even if the rooms and buildings had changed.


	4. Chapter 4

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. These become more detailed as the story goes on. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Chapter 4

David had texted Thad with their plans to go out, so David, Wes, Thad, Jeff, Nick, Sebastian, Trent, and Beatrice had woken at around 9am, gotten ready by 11am, and were now on their way to the mall to meet Blaine and Kurt. The plan was to do some shopping before going to get a late lunch and ice cream right after that. Beatrice was in the backseat between Nick and Jeff, Wes was driving with David in the front passenger seat, and Trent, Thad, and Sebastian were in the far back of Wes's van. They reached the mall without any issues, and Beatrice grabbed Nick's hand as soon as they were both out of the vehicle. Nick had a firm, but gentle, grip on her hand, and he would squeeze gently every now and then, trying to give her a little bit of extra comfort. They all walked to one of the clothing stores in the mall, looking around for Blaine and Kurt. They found them after a few minutes, both looking sad that it wasn't safe to hold hands, but still happy to be together. Kurt looked at Beatrice, then at Blaine.

"I'm going to have fun giving her a makeover."

Nick's hand squeezed Beatrice's. Jeff spoke up.

"No, you aren't."

Kurt looked confused.

"Why not?"

"This is the sort of thing she is comfortable in. She won't wear high heels, she hates skirts, and she has repeatedly asked me what the purpose behind a sleeveless shirt is."

Kurt's eyes widened.

"But…she could wear designer clothes if she wanted to. She could be in fashion, turn heads. Why wouldn't she want to?"

Nick sighed.

"Kurt, she grew up looking to me as an example. Even when she wanted to be like mom, to look like mom, she refused to wear skirts and high heels. She never tried on mom's high heeled shoes, only her flats or tennis shoes. The rest of the time, she was trying on my dress shoes and tennis shoes. Jeff has had reading glasses for years, and she used to try those on, even though she doesn't need them. Fashion isn't something that she has ever really been into."

Kurt looked upset.

"Did she have the chance to be?" "Well, she was allowed to wear anything within her school's dress code, but we never really showed her a bunch of fashionable stuff. She has to wear the uniform at Crawford Country Day."

Kurt held his hand out to Beatrice.

"Let's go introduce you to the world of fashion."

Beatrice followed, but refused to let go of Nick's hand. Kurt picked out various shirts and skirts before leading her to the dressing rooms and sending her in with the clothing. They boys waited as she tried on the first outfit, wondering how this was going to go.

"Nick?"

Nick straightened from his position leaning against the wall.

"Yeah, Little Bit?"

"Part of the shirt is missing."

Most of the boys chuckled, with the exceptions of Kurt, Blaine, and Sebastian. Nick took a deep breath, trying not to let her hear the laughter in his voice.

"What part is missing?"

There was a brief pause.

"The sleeves."

David, Thad, and Trent burst into laughter.

"Do you have the shirt on, Little Bit?"

"Yeah, and a skirt."

"Ok, Little Bit. Can you come out of the dressing room so we can see it?"

There was a pause, then the door opened. Beatrice looked confused and worried.

"I didn't rip it, honest."

Nick looked at Kurt for confirmation.

"She didn't rip it, that's how it looked when I found it."

Kurt looked at Beatrice.

"She looks great in the outfit, the only thing that could make it look better is if she were standing up straighter."

Nick sighed.

"Little Bit, do you want the outfit? Will you wear it if we get it?"

"No. It's pretty, but I don't feel comfortable in it."

Nick stepped towards her.

"Why don't you feel comfortable in it?"

"I feel…exposed? I don't feel right not having some sort of sleeves."

"Ok. Go back in there and pull out the shirts without sleeves, including this one, and hand them over the door to me. Just tell me when you are going to, ok?"

"Ok."

Beatrice went back into the dressing room, locking the door behind her. Kurt turned to look at Nick with a worried expression on his face.

"I don't understand. She said the clothes were pretty, but she doesn't want them?"

Jeff spoke up.

"Kurt, she does like the clothes, but that doesn't mean she feels comfortable in the clothes. I mean, I can remember when she was about 10 years old and she had to wear a dress to a party. She fidgeted the entire evening."

Jeff and Nick smiled as they remembered that party, and the aftermath.

"What happened?"

"As soon as the party was over, I went back to Nick's house to spend the night. We got to their house, and Beatrice practically flew out of the car. By the time we got in the house she was yelling for Nick. We went up to his room and found her pacing. Nick asked what was wrong, and she asked him to let her borrow a shirt and pants."

Kurt looked surprised.

"She didn't like wearing a dress?"

Nick laughed. "She absolutely loathed wearing a dress. To make matters worse, mom had insisted that she wear shoes with a slight heel on them. Since she had no experience with walking in them, she had to cling to either me or Jeff to stay upright. She only wears skirts at school now."

"Nick?"

Beatrice's voice floated out of the dressing room.

"Yeah, Little Bit?"

"I picked out the shirts with no sleeves."

"Ok, pass them over the door to Jeff."

Jeff reached up over the door so she knew that she could hand them out.

"Thanks, Jeff-Jeff."

Jeff grinned.

"No problem, Beatrice."

Jeff hung the clothes on the rack nearby before turning back to Kurt.

"Is it safe to guess that she just handed me most of the clothes that you sent her in there with?"

Kurt sighed.

"Yes. All she has left to try on is 2 shirts, 4 skirts, and a pair of jeans."

"Jeff?"

He turned towards the dressing room.

"Yeah, Beatrice?"

"My legs fell asleep."

Nick spoke up.

"Little Bit? Are you wearing the jeans Kurt sent you in with?"

"Yes…"

"Take them off and try one of the skirts on."

"Ok."

Jeff turned to Kurt.

"Kurt, seriously, don't feel bad if she doesn't get any of the clothing. She's always been more comfortable in pants and a t-shirt."

"Alright. I tried."

Blaine smiled at him. Trent nudged Wes and David, giving them a questioning glance. Both of them nodded. He spoke, voice barely above a whisper.

"Guys, can we surprise her?"

Nick looked over.

"Surprise her how?"

Trent grinned.

"Hat shopping."

Kurt and Sebastian both looked confused, but the rest of the boys were grinning broadly. Sebastian rolled his eyes, trying to feign disinterest.

"Why would you surprise her with hat shopping?"

David was smirking now.

"Because out of all clothing items that she could be interested in, she loves playing with hats."

Kurt looked astonished.

"Really?"

Nick chuckled.

"We think that it's Jeff's fault."

The boys, excluding Kurt and Sebastian, laughed. Sebastian wasn't even bothering to hide his curiosity now.

"Why do you think it's Jeff's fault? I've never seen him in a hat."

Jeff spoke up.

"We think it's my fault because I used to go with Nick and Beatrice when their mom took them shopping. Nick and I would try to keep Beatrice in a good mood, so he would use fake accents and I would grab hats from the shelves and put them on her. If we got the chance to stop by a hat aisle while their mom was trying on clothes, we would have Beatrice hold still and try to stack as many hats as we could on her head."

Nick picked up where Jeff left off.

"Jeff and I were 13 years old, so we could watch Beatrice without too much trouble. We realized that she loved hats the same year that we joined the Warblers, mostly because the entire group went on a shopping trip and Trent had offered to watch her while we tried on clothes. We had just come out of the dressing rooms and Beatrice was standing there with a beret on her head."

Nick smiled as he remembered.

"Beatrice was so excited. I mean, her posture isn't good normally, but with that hat on, she was standing up straight with a huge smile."

"Nick?"

The boys turned around. Beatrice was back in her normal clothing, looking relieved. Nick pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah, Little Bit?"

"Am I done trying clothes on now?"

"Did you try on all of the skirts and the two shirts that had sleeves?"

"Yep."

Beatrice pointed to the clothing rack where she had hung up the clothing.

"Then we can go to the next store."

Beatrice grabbed Nick's hand and turned to Kurt.

"I like the clothes that you picked out. They are really pretty, but I don't feel comfortable in them. I'm sorry."

Kurt smiled.

"It's alright."

Wes laid a gentle hand on Beatrice's shoulder.

"Let's go you guys, we've got some more stores to visit before we go get lunch."

"Then ice cream?"

Wes smiled at her.

"Then ice cream."

The group left the store, Beatrice happy to be with her brother, and all of the guys excited to see her expression upon learning about the surprise.


	5. Chapter 5

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. These become more detailed as the story goes on. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Chapter 5

The group made their way out of the mall, Trent texting directions to a hat store that he knew of to Blaine. Beatrice still had no idea where they were going to next, which made the moment when they pulled into the parking lot in front of the store rather exciting for the boys. Beatrice turned to Nick in confusion.

"Where are we?"

"We are at a store that Trent wanted to show you."

Trent had just gotten out of the van, and Beatrice immediately held out her hand to him. Trent grinned and took her hand as Blaine pulled into the parking lot, he and Kurt getting out of the car and joining the group quickly. Trent led the way into the store, Beatrice clinging tightly to his hand. A bell sounded as they opened the door, and the owner of the store came to greet them.

"Trent! It is good to see you. How have you been?"

The shopkeeper trailed off as he noticed Beatrice.

"And who is this young lady?"

Trent grinned.

"This is the girl that I was telling you about. Beatrice, meet Mr. Chance. Mr. Chance, meet Beatrice. I think you remember Wes and David?"

The two boys came forward as their names were mentioned.

"Of course. I hope you were happy with your purchases, gentlemen?"

Both boys grinned.

"We love what we got last time."

Trent spoke up.

"These guys are Thad, Nick, Jeff, Sebastian, Kurt, and Blaine."

He pointed to each as he named them, Mr. Chance shaking hands with each one.

"Alright, gentlemen and lady, how may I help you today?"

Trent grinned.

"Beatrice is obsessed with what your shop happens to specialize in."

Mr. Chance smiled, turning to Beatrice.

"Young lady, may I help you pick something, or would you refer to browse?"

Beatrice turned to Nick, looking scared. Nick gave her a hug.

"Trent remembered how much you like hats. This is a hat store. I'll go with you if you want Mr. Chance to help you pick something. It's up to you."

Beatrice thought about it for a moment, trying to make the decision somewhat quickly. Jeff stepped forward, recognizing that she was causing herself more confusion in her rush.

"Breathe. You have all the time in the world. Take your time."

Beatrice relaxed as Jeff spoke, Nick rubbing her shoulders to help soothe her. Finally, Beatrice looked to Mr. Chance.

"Sir, may I browse with these guys?"

Mr. Chance nodded.

"Of course. Let me know if you need anything."

He went back to the counter, the group thanking him as he went.

"Nick?"

"Yeah, Little Bit?"

"What's the name of that hat Jeff used to wear?"

"The black one?"

"Yeah."

"That would be a newsboy cap. Is that the sort of hat you want to look at?"

"I think so?"

Nick smiled at her.

"Let's go look for one then."

The group broke up into smaller groups. Wes dragged David, Thad, and Sebastian with him, Blaine and Kurt wandered off, and Trent joined Jeff, Nick, and Beatrice in their search for the newsboy caps.

"Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

"Is Beatrice really alright with me having made her try on fashionable clothes?"

Blaine turned to Kurt.

"Kurt, Beatrice has little signs that she gives when she likes someone. She had two of those signs while you were talking to her."

Kurt's eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Yeah. She complimented your clothing, which is rare. The other sign is that she gave you a hug when you first met."

"How does her giving me a hug mean anything? She gave you a hug."

Blaine smiled.

"She refused to give Sebastian one. I don't know what happened, but she doesn't like him yet."

"Why is he on this outing with us then?"

Blaine's smile became a grin.

"Because Wes has some things to discuss with him."

Wes had led David, Thad, and Sebastian to an aisle filled with baseball caps before turning to Sebastian, who nearly collided with him.

"Now, what is this about you causing Blaine injury?"

Sebastian's face took on an expression of carelessness, but Wes knew better. The fact that Blaine had been hurt was bothering him, Wes could see it in his eyes.

"It wasn't meant for Blaine."

Wes sighed.

"Look, this may sound insane, but there is a lot you could learn from Beatrice."

Sebastian scoffed.

"I'm not kidding. I wasn't the best person when I joined the council. I was entirely too strict, and the group suffered from it. But the day that Nick's mother brought Beatrice in changed my outlook on life. It was before her incident, but she was still childlike back then. I had been ready to point out everything that had gone wrong during practice to the group, but the moment I felt the weight of her head sink into my lap, I was distracted. I looked down, and my life was changed."

Sebastian looked at him curiously.

"How did Beatrice falling on you in her sleep change your life?"

Wes smiled fondly, remembering that moment.

"I looked down, and saw the innocence on her face. Nick had only mentioned the times when I scolded the group to her. She had no reason to trust me. She could have rested her head in the head council leader's lap by accident, and kept doing so the rest of that year. But she didn't. Her head had fallen into my lap, and I could tell that she woke slightly. All she did was press her head into my legs more. Something inside of me changed. I suddenly wanted to protect her from everyone, including myself. I looked back up at the boys and could remember everything that went wrong, but now I was remembering the things that had gone well."

David and Thad smiled, remembering how much had changed during that rehearsal. Wes shook his head to clear it before looking Sebastian right in the eyes.

"You need that chance. Let her in when she approaches you. You'll be a happier person."

There was a pause as the boys pretended to be examining the hats, then a small, excited voice was heard.

"Wes! David! Thad!"

All four boys turned around, Thad catching Beatrice as she flung herself at the group. Nick, Jeff, and Trent were behind her, followed by Blaine and Kurt.

"Hey, crazy kid. Did you find a hat?"

Thad was grinning as he spoke, happy that she felt comfortable around him as well as the former and current council members.

"Yep! It's an awesome hat!"

Beatrice held out the bag she was holding so they could look inside of it. A black newsboy cap lay inside. David spoke up.

"You're right, that is an awesome hat."

Wes spoke, looking at Sebastian as he did so.

"It is a pretty cool hat, isn't it, Sebastian?"

Sebastian looked uncertain. Wes gave him an encouraging nod as Beatrice looked over at Sebastian. Sebastian cleared his throat nervously.

"Yeah, it is pretty cool." Beatrice grinned at him.

Thad let Beatrice go, and she slowly walked over to Sebastian. He froze.

_If Wes is right, I need her to trust me. I want to be happy again. _

Beatrice held out her hand to him. He slowly took it and let her shake it, looking to Wes nervously. When he saw Wes's slight nod, he felt relieved.

_Maybe there's still a chance for me._

Kurt was staring at the scene in fury, barely able to hold his tongue. Blaine grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the store.

"Blaine, I thought you said she didn't like him yet!"

"I know, and she doesn't. She is starting to though."

"She can't! After what he did to you..."

"Kurt, listen to me. Wes knows what he's doing. Do you remember when I turned and dragged you away from one of the aisles?"

"Yeah? What about it?"

"I heard Wes talking to Sebastian. He thinks that Beatrice could help him."

Kurt was struggling to keep from shouting.

"Help him with what? Hurting you again?"

"Enough! Kurt, you need to listen to me. I heard tales when I first got to Dalton about how strict Wes had been the year before. Him meeting Beatrice saved the Warblers from falling apart. He isn't trying to harm me or you, he genuinely thinks that Beatrice could make Sebastian a better person."

"I doubt it."

The rest of the group came out of the store then.

"Alright, guys."

Wes was smiling.

"On to the bookstore, then on to lunch and ice cream!"

Watching Beatrice go through the bookstore was more fun than Sebastian had expected. The moment the door had opened, Beatrice had let go of Nick's hand, grabbed Wes's, and took off. Sebastian looked to David for an explanation.

"Wes started this thing where he and Beatrice would pick a book to read together, a kind of 2 person book club."

Nick spoke up, looking happy about the topic and Sebastian's newfound curiosity about his sister, especially since Wes had whispered to him that he thought Beatrice could help Sebastian and that he had told Sebastian as much.

"We keep a close eye on Beatrice so we'll know if she's going to have more flashbacks than usual, especially after some of them involved her falling at a bad time and scrapping her knees, her elbows, stuff like that. Since Wes started the "book club", she's been having fewer flashbacks."

Kurt looked confused.

"How is reading with Wes helping her? I mean, couldn't she read on her own and get the same result?"

Nick shook his head.

"I thought so too, but since Wes calls her as soon as he finishes the section that they agree on, she has to focus on the details a lot so she can remember them when he calls. While he was still at Dalton, she had to wait about a week, but since he went off to college, she has to wait three weeks, sometimes more. They're going to pick at least 6 books today so they don't run out of books before they next see each other."

Sebastian spoke up.

"Where does Beatrice attend school? I mean, you said that there was an incident at one point, but was it at school, or...?"

Jeff spoke up.

"She's switched schools since the incident, but it was at her old school. She's at Crawford Country Day now."

Kurt looked to Nick.

"How does she keep up with her school work? I mean, if she has flashbacks at somewhat unpredictable times..."

Nick sighed.

"Crawford Country Day's staff knows about the incident, especially since she had a flashback during school, right after she started attending there. Dalton was informed on the same day."

Kurt was now overly-curious about how things worked.

"Why does Dalton know?"

Nick's eyes started to tear up slightly as he remembered that day.

"It was right after she got out of the hospital, around three weeks after the incident. During the second half of the school year before Blaine transferred to Dalton. I was sitting in math class, understanding the material fairly well, feeling happy that Warbler's practice would be right after it, even though Wes was still a bit of a jerk at that point. The principal walked in and whispered something to the teacher, frequently glancing up at me as he did. I remember...my heart skipped a beat, and I felt like I was falling down a flight of stairs. The teacher called me up to his desk, and the first thing I said was, 'It's Beatrice, isn't it.' Not as a question even, I just somehow knew that something had happened to Beatrice. Apparently, someone had bumped her in the hallway accidentally, and it set her off. Her school had called mom, but she hadn't been able to make any progress, so she demanded that they call Dalton and Jeff's parents so they could pull us from class."

Sebastian spoke.

"Why did they pull Jeff too?"

Nick sighed, leading the group over to a table in a secluded corner. After they were all seated, Jeff put a hand on Nick's shoulder.

"Want me to take it from here, man?"

Nick nodded.

"Nick and I were the only people who could really break through to Beatrice during a flashback, we discovered that much in the hospital. We don't really know why, but the psychologist she was seeing thought that it might be because we had always been close to her, and because we were the first to find her. I mean, it's the best explanation that we've found yet."

Kurt looked horrified.

"What do you mean, you were the 'first to find her'?"

Jeff sighed.

"Exactly that. Nick's mom was running late at work, so she had called his dad, but he was in a meeting. Finally, she called Nick, and I went with him to pick Beatrice up."

Jeff's eyes took on an icy quality, causing both Kurt and Sebastian to squirm uncomfortably.

"Those bastards had set everything up. Her boyfriend..."

Jeff paused abruptly, looking at Nick. Nick nodded, looking tired.

"Her boyfriend at the time had become frustrated at her slightly childish-at-times nature, so he had complained to his friends about how dull she was, how much of a baby she could be. Instead of just talking to her, he decided to try to thrust maturity upon her."

Kurt gasped.

"No, please tell me he didn't..."

Jeff scoffed.

"He didn't. The fact that he could have disgusts me to this day, but he didn't. Instead, he sent her a text asking her to meet him by his locker. He, along with his friends, ambushed her."

Jeff was sitting rigidly in his chair, his normally kind eyes now piercing and ice cold.

"They beat her up. By the time Nick and I found her, they were gone, but we weren't even looking for them."

Jeff's eyes softened, now starting to tear a bit as he looked back and forth between Kurt and Sebastian.

"There wasn't an inch of her face not covered in cuts or bruises. Her left arm was broken, and she told us later that she had used it to catch herself as she fell. Her neck was scratched, her arms her masses of bruises and cuts. Her right leg was broken where her "boyfriend" had stomped on it."

Jeff's voice was practically pleading as he kept his gaze on either Kurt or Sebastian.

"Do you see now why we're so careful with her? Why we would skip Warbler practice, even if the council didn't cancel it, after she has a flashback? They tried to break her, and they nearly managed to! They came so fucking close, but she's stronger than any of them. She's stronger than any of them, but she really is fragile. So FUCKING FRAGILE!"

The boys jumped as Jeff's voice rose. Nick quickly started rubbing his back with a firm, gentle hand.

"Jeff, it's alright now, the bastards were caught, they aren't going to touch her ever again."

Jeff slumped onto the table, finally giving in to his tears.

Sebastian was shocked that anybody could do that to Beatrice. Yes, she was childish, but that wasn't a reason to beat her up. The boys waited for Jeff's sobs to stop, Nick rubbing his back and murmuring reassurances to him. Jeff eventually composed himself, then stood.

"We should go find those two. We'll be here all day if we don't."

The rest of the group stood, stretching and trying to wake up limbs that had fallen asleep. Sebastian spoke.

"Where do you think they'll be?"

Kurt spoke before Nick could.

"I'm guessing the teen's section."

All of the boys except Blaine and Sebastian grinned.

"What?"

Nick shook his head.

"Kurt, follow us."

The group followed Nick and Jeff, most of them already knowing where Wes and Beatrice were likely to be. They stopped at the end of the classics aisle, Jeff holding a finger to his own lips so they would be quiet. Nick beckoned Kurt and Sebastian forward, then stopped them, gesturing that they should peak their head around the aisle. They did so, and the sight that met their eyes made Kurt's jaw drop and Sebastian's eyes widen. Wes was standing in front of a shelf, pulling books that he had heard about and handing them to Beatrice, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, studying each book as it was handed to her. Beatrice would poke Wes's leg whenever she thought a particular book looked interesting, and he would pull a second copy of the book, handing it to her so she could add it to the pile. They worked in near silence, and there was already a pile of books next to Beatrice. None of the books were incredibly thin either. Jeff tapped the two peering around the corner on the shoulder to get their attention, gesturing that they should follow him. The rest of the group had already gone a few aisles over. Jeff whispered to Kurt and Sebastian.

"Ok, keep your voices down, but what do you think of that?"

Kurt was having trouble getting his voice to function properly, so Sebastian spoke first.

"How fast do they go through books? There must have been six different books in the stack that we saw, and they were still adding to it."

Nick grinned, looking over at them.

"They always buy six, mostly because they assign themselves large sections at a time so Wes will have time to keep up without Beatrice getting bored. They'll probably buy eight this time so they will be able to last through summer break. Then, there will be another trip to the bookstore towards the end of Wes's summer break so they can stock up again."

Kurt finally got his voice to function.

"Why does Wes go through all of this for her? I mean, he doesn't have to do it."

Nick's voice became warmer.

"She helped him change his life when he didn't even know that it needed changing."

Kurt looked confused, but Sebastian nodded in understanding. Kurt spoke, trying to understand what Nick meant.

"How on earth did she change his life? All she did was make him less strict during practice."

Nick smiled.

"I see Blaine only mentioned how he changed regarding the Warblers, not how he changed outside of the group."

Sebastian was confused now.

"Wes didn't say anything about changing outside of the Warblers."

David smiled.

"Oh, believe me. He did. He started to loosen up in the dorms as well."

_David went to his room after class, feeling relieved that classes were done for the week, even if he had homework to do. He opened the door and found Wes lying on his stomach, his blazer hung up on it's hanger and his tie in a bunch next to him on the bed. David shut the door, feeling somewhat apprehensive about this sudden change in his roommate._

_"Wes? Are you feeling okay?" _

_Wes looked up from his book and grinned. _

_'Apparently he is...' David noticed that the book Wes was reading was one that he himself had read in 7th grade. _

_"Why are you reading that? The school we both went to covers it for every group of 7th graders."_

_Wes was still smiling. _

_"I'm reading it with someone." _

_David was slightly alarmed by this statement, especially since they were the only two people in the room. _

_"With who?" _

_"Beatrice." _

_David was stunned. _

_"Nick's little sister?" _

_"Yeah." _

_"Why?" _

_Wes grabbed a bookmark from it's place on the bed, placing it in the book carefully before closing the book and setting it down. _

_"Because after the meeting, she mentioned that she hated not having read some of the books that her new classmates have, especially since she now has to catch up with her class. I offered to read some classics with her and discuss them with her so she would be able to understand them better." _

_"Dude, you do realize that you have to keep up with schoolwork, right?" _

_Wes nodded. _

_"That's why I've been working on some of it during lunch. I'll find a way to make this work. I like feeling like I'm helping her." _

_"Alright."_

David smiled as he remembered that day, then shook his head, returning his attention to Kurt and Sebastian.

"Anyways, Beatrice really did change Wes's life that day."

Just then, Wes came around the corner with eight books in his arms, Beatrice following with copies of the same books in her arms. Nick turned when Jeff gestured towards the end of the aisle.

"Hey, Little Bit, did you guys set up your list of sections yet?"

Beatrice shook her head.

"We're going to at Dalton."

Wes spoke up.

"Alright, Warblers, both current and former. Let's go get some ice cream."

Beatrice grinned.

"You too, honorary Warbler."

Beatrice followed Wes and Nick to the cash register to purchase the books, then out to the car, clutching Nick's hand as she always did after prolonged periods of time without being close to him.


	6. Chapter 6

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. These become more detailed as the story goes on. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Author's Note: The ideas for the ice cream flavors came from .edu/products/ice-cream I'm not trying to promote the site or anything, I just figured I should explain how I got two of the flavors. The mint chocolate chip is my personal favorite though. J

Chapter 6

The boys and Beatrice stopped for lunch before going to the ice cream place. Beatrice was silent through lunch, as well as on the way to the ice cream place, which was somewhat concerning since she normally talked about the books she and Wes were going to read after going to the bookstore. Nick wrapped an arm around her shoulders, letting her lean into him. He knew better than to ask any questions, experience had taught him that she didn't always know what was bothering her anyways. They reached the ice cream place and got out of the car, Jeff leading the way in so his ice cream would be available for Beatrice to try. It was a somewhat slower day for the store, which most of the boys were grateful for. It would put less stress on Beatrice as she tried to make a decision. Jeff was handed his ice cream after he paid for it, and he turned to Beatrice, holding out the ice cream and a spoon. Beatrice took a hesitant bite, her eyes widening in delight at the taste.

"Good?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Jeff-Jeff."

The rest of the Warblers, along with Kurt and Blaine paid for their ice creams, leaving Nick and Beatrice until last. Nick placed his order, explaining that he would be paying for Beatrice's ice cream as well, then turned to Beatrice to see what she wanted. His face fell as he took in the expression on her face.

"It's alright, Little Bit. What have you decided on so far?"

Beatrice swallowed.

"One scoop of mint chocolate chip."

Nick turned to the server with a pleading look that asked for patience.

"Can I have a scoop of mint chocolate chip on a waffle cone please?"

The server dished up the ice cream and waited. Nick looked at Beatrice again.

"One scoop of orange sherbet."

The server automatically scooped up the ice cream.

"Nick?"

Beatrice's voice was shaky.

"Little Bit, take your time."

"Is it alright if I have another scoop of ice cream?"

Nick smiled slightly.

"Of course you can. You had a healthy lunch and breakfast."

"What flavor is that?"

Beatrice pointed to an orangey ice cream that looked different from the orange sherbet. The server smiled at her kindly.

"That's pumpkin pie flavored."

Beatrice looked at Nick.

"Can I have a scoop of that?"

Nick's smile widened.

"Of course."

The server quickly dished up the ice cream and Nick paid for it. They walked to the table their friends were at, Nick handing Beatrice her cone after she had sat down.

"Thank you, Nick-Nick."

"You're welcome, Little Bit."

Beatrice took a bite of her ice cream, smiling at the flavor. The group chatted as they ate their ice cream, relieved that Beatrice had had little trouble choosing this time. They all looked up in alarm when they heard someone say Beatrice's name from the doorway. Beatrice turned, then handed her ice cream to Nick before running towards the person. Kurt whispered to Blaine.

"Why is Beatrice running towards Santana instead of away from her?"

"I have no idea."

Nick was watching his sister with a smile on his face, so Jeff answered for him.

"Nick and Beatrice met Santana at a park near their house a few years before the incident. She's great with Beatrice, she knows how to handle her childish behaviors better than most people."

Kurt's eyes widened as Santana approached the group, Beatrice in tow.

"Wow. I thought she only tolerated Brittney's childish moments."

Santana had just reached the table, and was about to greet the group when Rachel walked in with Mercedes. She walked towards the counter, then stopped and turned.

"Santana! Kurt! Blaine! You know better than to fraternize with the enemy!"

She stormed over, Mercedes following. She tried to pull Santana away from the group, but she was still holding on to Beatrice. Santana, Nick, Jeff, and Wes noticed immediately when Beatrice started going into a flashback. Nick was by her side in a flash, and Santana handed her to him before turning on Rachel.

"You idiot! That girl has problems and you just set her off!"

"She's with the enemy, so I don't see why..."

Santana snarled, leaping towards Rachel before Jeff pulled her back. Wes stepped towards Rachel, trying to hide his anger.

"We are not here to interrogate Kurt, Blaine, or Santana about show choir. We are here to have some ice cream and visit with Nick's little sister who has flashbacks of being beaten up when certain things trigger them."

His voice was icy. Rachel opened her mouth to argue with him, but Kurt interrupted.

"Rachel, shut up. You know we wouldn't tell them the set list, especially not after what happened last time."

Rachel's mouth closed, though she was still glaring at the Warblers and Wes. Nick had finally managed to pull Beatrice back from her flashback and was sitting with her in his lap, feeding her bits of his ice cream with a spoon, hoping that the familiarity of the flavor and the reminder of him would soothe her. Mercedes went to Kurt.

"Why didn't you say anything about her?"

"I didn't know anything before yesterday."

"What happened to her?"

"I can't say. I want to tell you, but I can't do that to her."

Mercedes nodded.

"Alright."

David and Thad pulled chairs to the table, away from where Beatrice was still curled up in Nick's lap, and Mercedes and Rachel sat down. Santana had already grabbed her own seat. Kurt spoke up.

"So, Blaine, you said that you met Beatrice the same year you transferred to Dalton?"

Blaine nodded.

"Yeah. Hard to forget that day."

_The doorbell rang and Mrs. Anderson answered it. _

_"Hello, Mrs. Anderson, we're the Warblers. Is Blaine home?" _

_"Blaine! Your friends are here!" _

_Blaine came from the living room. _

_"Hey guys, come on in. Thanks, mom_._" _

_Mrs. Anderson smiled. _

_"No problem, sweetie. I have to go visit your grandmother. Be home around eight o'clock." _

_She left the group standing in the front hall. Blaine led the way to the living room, then looked around the room as the boys sat down. Nick approached Blaine, dragging a girl a few years younger than him by the hand. _

_"Hey, Nick, who is this?" _

_The girl turned pale and hid behind Nick, still clutching his hand. _

_"This is my little sister, Beatrice. Little Bit, meet Blaine. I talked to you about Blaine, remember?" _

_The girl nodded, taking a step forward. Blaine looked to Nick in alarm. _

_"What did you tell her about me?" _

_"I didn't say much, but I had to say something so she wouldn't be completely freaked out. She isn't used to new people, and after the incident, boys are especially a problem if she doesn't know them." _

_"Incident?" _

_"I'll tell you at school. Can she stay with us today? My mom couldn't find a babysitter, and Beatrice is normally quiet and stays out of the way." _

_"Alright..." _

_"Thanks, man." _

_Nick pulled Beatrice towards the couch that Wes and David were sitting on, then sat by Wes and allowed Beatrice to curl up on his lap. Wes spoke. _

_"Blaine, do you have any old yearbooks? They'll distract Beatrice from the unfamiliar surroundings." _

_Blaine went to his room and grabbed the year book from his old school, feeling slightly nauseous as he remembered what had happened there. He went back to the living room and held the book out to Beatrice, who immediately shrank back into Nick. Jeff poked Blaine from his seat on the floor by the couch. _

_"Hand it to me. She's used to me." _

_Blaine handed Jeff the book, then stepped back to watch. Jeff held out one hand, the empty one, to Beatrice. Beatrice looked at him, cocking her head to one side before taking his hand. She allowed Jeff to ease her off of Nick's lap and onto his own, and he handed her the yearbook. Blaine sat on an arm chair, and the boys started chatting about school and music. Everything was going well until Blaine heard the doorbell ring. _

_"I'll be right back." _

_He went into the front hallway, and was about to open the door when he heard a shriek. He turned around and saw Beatrice running at him, Nick and Jeff close behind. _

_"What's going on?" _

_"Blaine, for goodness's sake, do not open that door." _

_"Why?" _

_Nick was trying to hold Beatrice back so she wouldn't tackle Blaine in her panicked state, and Jeff spoke up. _

_"Beatrice has a really good memory for faces, which is why she likes year books so much. Nick mentioned that you were bullied by jocks at your old school, so she looked at the pages with sports teams." _

_"So?" _

_"She saw who rang the doorbell right after you left to get the door. It's one of the jocks."_

_Blaine felt his blood run cold. _

_"What?" _

_Nick spoke up. _

_"Let Beatrice answer the door. Trust me." _

_Blaine was feeling a bit skeptical, but stepped behind Jeff as Nick released Beatrice. Beatrice approached the door and opened it a tiny bit. _

_"Hello?" _

_"Hey." _

_Blaine heard the bully's voice and nudged Jeff, who simply nodded and looked over to Nick. _

_"May I ask who you are looking for?" _

_"Blaine Anderson." _

_"I've never heard of him before...is he your imaginary friend? I have an imaginary friend." _

_Blaine's jaw dropped, and he moved to grab Beatrice, but Jeff held him back as Nick moved to stand in front of Beatrice. _

_"I am so sorry, my little sister is such a pest. May I ask who you're looking for?" _

_"Blaine Anderson." _

_"I'm sorry, you have the wrong house. Have a nice day." _

_"Bye." _

_Beatrice hollered right before Nick closed the door. _

_"I hope you find your imaginary friend!" _

_Nick shut the door and Blaine locked it, sinking to the floor in front of it. Beatrice approached him, then knelt beside him, holding out her hand. Blaine looked up at Nick in confusion. _

_"It's her way of offering comfort. I told her about the bruises on your back, so she doesn't want to grab you in a hug. She wants to avoid hurting you." _

_Blaine looked at his watch at the mention of his bruises and sighed. _

_"Crap, mom left before she helped me with the cream for my bruises. Can one of you guys...?" _

_Jeff interrupted. _

_"Of course we'll help you." _

_Blaine went to retrieve the balm to help ease the ache of his bruises as the other three went back into the living room. Blaine returned with the balm and Nick took it from him. Blaine stripped off his shirt and the entire group could see the mass of bruises stretched across his entire back. Blaine laid down on the floor with his head resting on his arms. Nick knelt beside him, and was about to unscrew the cap on the balm when he felt a tug on his shirt. _

_"Nick-Nick?" _

_"Yeah, Little Bit?" _

_Beatrice looked incredibly nervous and sad. _

_"Can I help Blaine with the balm?" _

_"Blaine? She's really gentle, and her hands will be softer and smoother than mine." _

_Blaine considered. _

_"Alright, I guess." _

_"I'll keep an eye on her, don't worry." _

_Nick opened the container and let Beatrice dip her hand in. She knelt by Nick and rubbed her hands together slightly to spread the balm onto both of her hands. She leaned down and let her hands press gently against Blaine's back with a barely-there pressure. Blaine slowly began to relax as Beatrice worked the balm into the bruises, moving slowly and carefully so Blaine could barely notice that she was doing anything. When she was done, she wiped her hands on her pants and gently tapped Blaine's shoulder. Nick spoke up._

_"You're all set." _

_Blaine rolled over and sat up, happy to have the balm easing the ache of the bruises._

_"Thanks, Beatrice." _

_Beatrice was still kneeling next to him, and she held out her arms. Blaine looked at Nick._

_"She'll be gentle." _

_Blaine turned back to Beatrice and hugged her, fighting to hold back tears when he felt her arms wrap gently around him and heard her mutter something._

"I'll never forget what she said. 'Those bastards. Those sick, messed up bastards. If they try to hurt you again, they won't have any unbroken bones left in their body.' I was so startled that she was reacting that strongly."

Blaine's eyes had teared up and he was wiping them with a napkin. Beatrice looked up when he quoted her and uncurled herself from her seat on Nick's lap to approach Blaine. He opened his arms and she curled up on his lap instead. Everybody had finished their ice cream except for Beatrice, and Nick approached the counter to ask for a bowl. Mercedes had been moved by the story, but Rachel was still annoyed.

"It's one thing that this kid is a nice person, but Sebastian isn't! I mean, you had to have eye surgery after the rock salt he put in the slushy that he threw at you!"

Beatrice sat up in alarm. Nick was on his way back from the counter when he heard Rachel, and his face drained of any color. Jeff leapt into action, knowing that Nick wouldn't be able to reach Beatrice in time.

"Beatrice. Let's dance. I need a partner, dance with me, please...?"

Jeff made puppy dog eyes at Beatrice as he practically begged her to dance with him. Beatrice smiled at him, then looked at Rachel. Nick had reached the table and was stunned when he realized what Beatrice was going to do.

"Sebastian may have harmed Blaine, but I'm working with him. He's got a good heart, most people are just too foolish to realize it."

She hopped off of Blaine's lap and let Jeff start twirling her around in the middle of the restaurant.

Rachel, Mercedes, Kurt, and Sebastian were shocked at the sudden speech that Beatrice had given. Rachel because she couldn't believe someone would defend Sebastian, Mercedes because she couldn't believe that the shy girl had turned that harshly on Rachel. Kurt was stunned that Beatrice hadn't turned on Sebastian, as was Sebastian himself. Wes cleared his throat as Nick took his seat, and the group that was seated turned to look at Wes.

"Sebastian, there's hope for you yet."

Sebastian swallowed.

"Really?"

David smiled at him.

"Dude, she's never announced that she was working with someone. That says a lot, especially since she told a complete stranger."

Sebastian smiled slightly, feeling a little bit better. Rachel had finally found her voice.

"What does she mean 'working with him'? Is she planning to sabotage our group too?"

Blaine sighed.

"Rachel, Beatrice would never do that, especially not when she knows that both Kurt and I are in the group."

Trent spoke up.

"She means that she is going to help him change. She has this, ability, to make people want to be better, and she can teach them simply by putting them to various tests without them knowing it."

He turned to Sebastian.

"You won't know when she's testing you. Believe me, she's worked with me before too."

"What did she work with you on?"

"Slight bit of shyness on stage."

Kurt's eyes grew wide.

"Really?"

Trent laughed.

"Yep. I could sing, but putting me anywhere near the front of the group could have been disastrous. She helped me."

Blaine looked intrigued.

"How?"

"She used to grab me and pull me into the practice room when nobody was there, tell me to start singing. I would increase in volume the longer I sang, and sometimes I would close my eyes. She noticed, and eventually she started bringing some of the guys in, one at a time."

Thad grinned.

"I was the first one she dragged in. I was told to shut up and follow her, so I did. I sat listening to Trent for awhile, then she brought Wes in."

Wes laughed.

"I remember that! She wouldn't let us stay for an entire song until the last day. That was the day when she managed to get the entire group in and she made us be completely silent and not look at Trent until he opened his eyes."

Trent was laughing again.

"I remember being so freaked out when I opened my eyes, but she had made you guys sit around the room in such a way that I couldn't get out! Then you all started clapping and whistling. I thought all of you were mocking me, but as I looked around the room, I caught the look on Beatrice's face. She looked so proud of me, and I looked at the rest of you and realized that you weren't making fun of me. I'd never felt that good in front of a crowd in my life."

David spoke up, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Thad, might this explain a certain phrase of yours?"

The Warblers laughed. Thad and Trent blushed. Thad looked at Trent.

"You first."

Trent sighed.

"Fine...I may have accused the group of mocking me before I saw Beatrice."

Blaine's mouth twitched, he had a feeling that he knew where this was going. Thad spoke up.

"I may have turned what he said on him..."

The Warblers, Kurt, Blaine, and Beatrice burst into laughter.

"Hey! In my defense, I was running on about two hours of sleep."

Wes grinned at him.

"That's what makes it so much better."

Beatrice and Jeff stopped dancing and returned to their seats; Beatrice on top of Nick, Jeff beside him.

"Hey, Little Bit. Do you want to finish your ice cream?"

She smiled.

"Okay, Nick-Nick."

He pulled the bowl towards them and handed Beatrice the spoon. She dug in immediately, smiling as she tasted the pumpkin pie flavor. She soon finished that scoop, moving to the orange sherbet. She grinned as she tasted the colorful treat, thinking that the color could be used to describe Jeff's personality. Finally, she started on the mint chocolate chip, her brother's favorite flavor and the one flavor that would always bring comfort to her because of that. She nudged Nick when she had eaten the ice cream, leaving the cone in the bowl.

"Are we splitting it, Little Bit?"

"Please?"

"Should we let Jeff have part?"

Beatrice looked over at Jeff, who was giving her puppy-dog eyes.

"Yep. We should split it with Jeff-Jeff."

Jeff grinned, planting a sloppy kiss on her cheek, which made her giggle. He turned to Nick, who immediately began scooting away from his best friend when he realized what he was thinking. The entire group at the table burst into laughter as Jeff jumped out of his chair and planted a kiss on Nick's cheek, sloppier than the one he had given Beatrice.

Jeff jumped back out of Nick's reach as Beatrice squealed in delight, her brother seemingly less than pleased about the situation. In reality, he was holding back laughter, especially since the goofy exchange brought so much joy to his sister. He nudged his sister, gesturing for her to get off of his lap. She looked at him, then at Jeff who was shaking his head. Nick swallowed. This is where they had to be careful with this game. If he and Jeff gave her contrasting orders for too long, she would get confused to the point of tears. He caught Jeff's eyes when she looked away from him and Jeff nodded. Nick nudged Beatrice again, and she looked at Jeff, who was now facing the opposite direction. Beatrice stood up, and Nick leaped towards Jeff.

"Mwa! Mwa!"

The group at the table burst into laughter again as Nick grabbed Jeff and planted an incredibly sloppy kiss on each of his cheeks.

Jeff wiped off both of his cheeks in fake disgust, though he was actually happy that he and Nick could play this game and get such a strong, positive reaction from Beatrice. Her parents were incredibly tolerant people, but they had never been the ones to explain that some people happened to love others of the same sex. Nick and Jeff had realized this before starting to attend Dalton, a few years before Beatrice would attend high school, and they had talked to Nick's parents about the idea of them possibly teaching her instead. The conversation had been somewhat short, especially since Nick's parents trusted Nick to do what was right for his sister. They had sat with Beatrice on the floor in Nick's room that night, explaining as much as they could without scaring her with talk of sex. Her reaction had been positive then too.

_"Little Bit, Jeff and I need to talk to you about something." _

_Beatrice sat up from her sprawled position on the floor of Nick's bedroom, looking worried. _

_"It's nothing bad, just something we think you need to know about." _

_Beatrice relaxed and patted the floor on either side of her, so the boys sat down. Jeff let Nick start, knowing that he could set appropriate guidelines on what they would be telling her. _

_"Little Bit, do you remember the conversation we had with mom last year? The major one?" _

_Beatrice's face scrunched up in thought. _

_"The one about babies and where they come from?" _

_"Yeah." _

_"Well, mom and I forgot to tell you something." _

_Beatrice simply looked at him, waiting. Nick sighed, not entirely sure how to go about this. _

_"Jeff said he would help me out with this conversation, is that okay?" _

_Beatrice smiled. _

_"Yep. I like Jeff-Jeff." _

_Nick chuckled slightly as Jeff perked up a bit and grabbed Beatrice, pulling her into a hug while she was facing away from him. He figured that he should continue while Jeff has holding Beatrice in reassuring hug. _

_"Alright. mom and I mentioned that a guy and girl can be in a relationship, but we forgot to mention that that isn't always the case..."_

Jeff was pulled from his reminiscing by a hand tugging on his sleeve.

"Can we finish the ice cream cone now? Please?"

He laughed and held out his hand.

"Sure."

He allowed Beatrice to drag him back to the table. The three of them sat down, Beatrice immediately looking over at Wes for help dividing the cone into somewhat equal parts. While she was distracted, Nick leaned over to Jeff.

"What had you so distracted?"

"Remembering how Beatrice reacted to our lesson on various relationship types."

Nick's grin was enormous, soon causing the rest of the group to look over when they noticed.

"You know how Beatrice is accepting of the various relationships she has seen?"

Most of the group nodded.

"Well, Jeff and I tried giving her a lesson about the various types of relationships there are, and since Jeff mentioned the lesson, I can't help remembering her response."

Blaine, Kurt, and Santana looked intrigued.

"She looked at both of us and said 'Why on earth wouldn't there be different types of relationships? I mean, I love Nick, but I don't want to kiss him on the mouth. I love Santana, but I don't want to kiss her _in that way_ either. So people have different types of relationships, but really, when you think about it, everyone should have the chance to love somebody and be loved.' I just like knowing that she didn't necessarily need the lesson anyways."

The rest of the group nodded, several of them close to tears. Santana held her arms out for Beatrice and Nick let his sister go to Santana. The two girls moved their chair closer to Wes so he could continue explaining fractions with the help of the ice cream cone. Sebastian was sitting a few seats away, contemplating what Nick had just told them.

_How is it she's going to help me? She seems to be so nice to everyone without trying to, this story was yet another example of that. But what is she going to do to help fix me?_ _How is she going to help me be happy again?_

Authors Note: Hello. If you've made it this far into the story, I am impressed at the amount of patience you have. I just wanted to say that I know that the "talk" that Nick and Jeff give Beatrice isn't the best talk possible, but it took me until I started watching "Glee" to really know that other types of relationships existed. I hope I didn't offend anybody, and if I did, I am sorry.

Please review. Having some feedback will help me to know if I should keep posting more to the story or not. Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. These become more detailed as the story goes on. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Chapter 7

The group stayed in the ice cream place for another half hour, chatting and enjoying their treat. Beatrice had moved to Nick's lap so she could split the ice cream cone with Jeff and Nick. She was finished with her piece of it, content to just relax into Nick, letting her head flop back onto his shoulder. Jeff kept looking at the pair with an expression of pure happiness, so glad to see the two people he counted as siblings so happy. Rachel and Mercedes stood, saying goodbye to the group, but when Rachel went to shake Beatrice's hand, she shrank back into Nick. Rachel looked annoyed and marched away, leaving Mercedes by the group. Mercedes looked at Wes.

"Is there a way to get a positive reaction from her if you aren't Jeff or Nick?"

Wes smiled, stood, then walked around the table to stand by Nick, his hand resting on Beatrice's shoulder.

"It helps if you don't send her into a flashback right off the bat."

He held out his hand.

"Let me see your hand. If she sees that I am alright with you being around, it might help her relax."

Mercedes placed her hand in Wes's, hoping that this trick would work. Beatrice saw the two hands connecting her Wes to this new person and tilted her head, considering. Mercedes held very still as Nick whispered in Beatrice's ear.

"Little Bit, this is Kurt's friend Mercedes."

Beatrice was still for a moment. Then, much to the surprise of Mercedes, she held out her hand. Mercedes removed her own hand from Wes's and took Beatrice's, allowing the younger girl to shake her hand gently before letting go. Rachel came back to the table, clearly annoyed at having to wait for Mercedes. Mercedes just turned and followed Rachel out of the store, too distracted by her curiosity about what happened to Beatrice to argue with Rachel.

The remaining group was quiet for a moment.

"Well, that went better than I expected it to."

Everybody turned to look at David, expressions varying from the one of amusement on Wes's face, to the one of utter disbelief on Santana's.

"What? It could have gone a lot worse."

Beatrice started giggling slightly as Wes shook his head. Santana rolled her eyes and turned to Nick.

"What's the plan for the rest of the weekend?"

Beatrice stopped laughing and twisted so she could see her brother's face. Nick gave her a reassuring smile.

"She's going to stay with Jeff and me until Monday morning, when we'll take her back to her dorm room at Crawford Country Day. She can change into a clean uniform and go to class after that."

Santana nodded.

"Alright, can you let me know if you guys see each other next weekend? I miss her."

Nick smiled.

"Of course."

Santana stood and held her arms out to Beatrice, who practically leapt off of Nick's lap and into her arms. The two girls hugged, then stepped away from each other.

"See ya, Beatrice."

"Bye, Santana."

Santana nodded to the rest of the boys, giving Nick a warm smile, and left. The boys were just falling back into conversation, Beatrice curled up on Nick's lap while he talked to Wes, when they heard somebody clear their throat. Looking up, they noticed that the server had come over to the table.

"Hi, I, um, didn't get a chance to say anything before, but I just think it's so sweet how well you guys look after her. I mean, I liked more little kid stuff than most of my classmates in high school, and I know that it isn't always supported. Watching how all of you interact with her has just made my day."

The boys smiled, and the server turned to walk away, but was stopped by a hand on her arm. She turned back and saw that Beatrice, while still on Nick's lap, had an arm stretched out to her. She stepped towards her slowly, thinking of the incident from before, and waited. Beatrice smiled at her and held out her arms. The server was stunned that the girl would trust her at all, but stepped into the hug.

"Thank you. Thank you so, so much."

Beatrice whispered in her ear.

"Of course."

She whispered back, feeling her eyes start to fill with tears at how fragile the young girl seemed in that moment. She stepped back, then turned and walked away.

The boys all sat frozen by what had happened between Beatrice and the server. Kurt and Blaine were looking at each other, seemingly having the kind of silent conversation with their eyes that couples seem to be particularly good at. David, Thad, and Trent were smiling slightly. Wes had an enormous grin stretched across his face, Sebastian was staring at Beatrice as though he were trying to understand her, and Jeff was grinning slightly. The truly startling reaction was Nick's. Nick hadn't moved, had scarcely blinked, since the server had walked away. As the others regained the ability to speak, Wes reached across the table and tapped Nick's arm.

"Wakey-wakey."

Nick looked up in alarm.

"What?"

All of the boys became concerned by his actions. Beatrice hid her face in the space where Nick's shoulder and neck met. He glanced at her, smiling faintly as he realized that she wanted to comfort him, thinking he was sad.

"I'm alright, Little Bit. Honest."

The group left the store, everyone thinking about the events of the day, Sebastian especially.


	8. Chapter 8

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Chapter 8

The rest of the weekend has passed by in a blur for Beatrice and the Warblers who were close to her. She and Wes had set up sections for their "two-person book club", Blaine and Kurt had gone back to Lima, and the entire group worked on their homework, Beatrice included. Nick and Jeff dropped her off at school early Monday morning, Nick explaining to Beatrice's principal what had happened over the weekend so she would have fair warning about the higher-than-normal risk for Beatrice having a flashback. Wes had gone back to college, much to the disappointment of Beatrice, who had hoped to see him the next weekend. Before he said goodbye to Beatrice, Wes had taken Sebastian aside.

"Make sure you follow her requests and answer her questions. I really think that she can help you to be happy again, but only if you let her."

He held out his hand, looking Sebastian directly in the eyes. Sebastian shook Wes's hand, gripping firmly enough that Wes knew just how afraid he was. He let go and waited.

"Do you...do you really think she can make me happy again?"

His voice was a mere whisper, and a rather wavering one at that. Wes clapped a firm hand onto Sebastian's shoulder.

"Yes. You'll see."

He had turned and walked away, leaving a slightly more hopeful Sebastian behind.

The week had passed rather slowly for Beatrice, who really wanted to see her big brother again. Still, she was extremely grateful when school let out on Friday afternoon and she hadn't had any flashbacks. She nearly skipped to her dorm room, only refraining from doing so because she figured that it wouldn't be considered lady-like. She dropped off the textbooks that she didn't need for homework, organizing them neatly on her bookshelf. Her roommate was fairly neat, but Beatrice had to have all of her belongings in various patterns and orders. Organization and attention to details seemed to help her avoid falling into another flashback, so she willingly hung her clothes in order by color, with her uniforms off to one side, creating a rainbow in her closet. Books were in order by which class period she needed them for, her CD player was perched on her nightstand with her CDs in the drawer. The CD that the Warblers had recorded for her remained in the CD player until she left the room, when she would gingerly place it in its case and file it away in the drawer. She normally put the CD back into the player when she re-entered the room, but today she pulled the case out of the drawer and placed it in her overnight bag, since she would be staying with Nick and Jeff again, she likely wouldn't need the soothing songs to relax her, but she felt better having it with her if she left the school or her house. She packed her bag with everything she would need for the weekend, including several things that she planned to use when she worked with Sebastian. She had just zipped up the bag when she heard a masculine voice in the hallway, right on the other side of her closed door. She grinned as she recognized the voice, as well as the masculine voice that responded to it. She flung open the door and leapt towards Nick, who caught her and pulled her into a tight hug. The siblings clung to each other for a moment, both closing their eyes and relishing the feeling of knowing that their own sibling was safe. Jeff stood back slightly, knowing how worried Nick had been about Beatrice after the last weekend. They eventually pulled back from each other, Nick stepping away so Jeff could pull Beatrice into a hug as well. They let go after a second and Beatrice went back into her room and grabbed her bag.

"Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I change when we get to Dalton?"

Nick smiled.

"Of course. I don't want you stuck in a skirt for the rest of the day."

"Thank you."

The trio went out to Nick's car, Nick and Jeff climbing into the front seats as Beatrice took her place in the backseat on the passenger side.

The drive to Dalton was uneventful, as was the trip up to Nick and Jeff's dorm room. Beatrice changed quickly, relieved that she wasn't stuck in a skirt and dress shoes any more. Nick and Jeff waited as patiently as they could, both eager to get to dinner. When Beatrice was done, she stuffed her uniform into her bag and grabbed something from it, not letting either of the boys see what it was. The boys glanced at each other, wondering what the object might be, but knowing that it wasn't anything to worry about. The trio made their way to the cafeteria, grabbed food and paid for it, then wandered over to sit with David, Trent, and Thad. Beatrice saw where they were heading and grabbed Nick's sleeve to get his attention. He looked at her, confused as to why she would stop him right then.

"Can I sit with Sebastian?"

Jeff whirled around in alarm.

"What?"

"I want to sit with Sebastian."

She pointed to the table where Sebastian was sitting by himself. Nick set his hand on her shoulder.

"On your own, or with us with you?"

Beatrice was quiet for a moment.

"On my own. I think I'll be alright, but..."

"What is it, Little Bit?"

"Can you keep an eye on me? I know that I haven't had any this week, but in case I do..."

Nick pulled her into a hug.

"Of course."

The boys left to sit with their friends, giving Beatrice the time to muster up a bit of courage and approach Sebastian's table. She tapped him on the shoulder, then held out her hand once he had turned around. He took it slowly, and was about to shake her hand when she stepped forward and tugged on his hand, gently enough that he wouldn't fall out of his seat, but firmly enough that he fell towards her. This move gave her the opportunity to wrap him in a tight hug, something he clearly hadn't been expecting. Beatrice felt his muscles tense at the unfamiliar gesture and frowned. She had heard about Sebastian's father before, and she had come to the conclusion that Sebastian didn't receive nearly as many hugs as she had as a child. She let go of him sooner than she had originally planned to, trying to make sure he didn't become extremely uncomfortable.

"Can I sit by you? Please?"

Sebastian looked confused.

"Why aren't you sitting with Nick and Jeff?"

"Because I wanted to talk to you."

Sebastian gulped.

"Alright..."

Beatrice sat down across from him, poking at her food with a fork until it was organized on her tray. Sebastian watched her doing this, curiosity flowing through him.

"Why do you organize things that way?"

The question had left his mouth before he even realized he was speaking. Beatrice didn't look up.

"It helps."

She continued pushing food around on her plate, making sure each type of food was separate from the rest. She sighed and looked up. Sebastian looked confused.

"Mixed vegetables."

This caused him to be even more confused. She sighed again.

"I separate food by type. Not just by food group and what-not. I put carrots separate from corn, which is separated from peas. The whole lot is separated from meat. Potatoes are separate too. Mixed vegetables take longer to separate, especially on my own."

"Who normally helps you?"

Beatrice smiled slightly.

"Normally my mom. If she's not around, Nick separates them before he starts eating."

She paused, then grinned.

"One time Jeff helped. Except..."

"Except what?"

She giggled.

"Except Nick came back from the kitchen to find vegetables all over the dining room since Jeff decided to start a food fight with me."

"The mess from that didn't cause any..."

Sebastian trailed off, unsure of what to call Beatrice's moments. She tilted her head to one side and studied him for a moment.

"It's okay, you know."

"What?"

"You can call them flashbacks. I'm not going to be offended."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean anything by it, I-I just..."

He was stammering over the words, trying to form an apology. Beatrice reached across the table and rested her hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down. It's alright. Just say flashbacks next time, or problem, or issues..."

She trailed off, remembering how many different terms had been used for what happened to her. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her thoughts. She pulled her hand back to her side of the table, smiling sadly when Sebastian leaned towards her hand unconsciously.

"What's wrong?"

She was silent for a few minutes and Sebastian went back to eating, figuring that she would tell him if she wanted to. She had finished sorting her food and eaten all of her vegetables and potatoes before she spoke again. She waited for Sebastian to swallow the mouthful of milk that he had just taken before speaking.

"I know why you are the way you are."


	9. Chapter 9

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. These become more detailed as the story goes on. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Ch. 9

Sebastian had, luckily, already set down his glass before Beatrice said anything. His jaw dropped. His eyes widened as he stared at her, amazed that she could possibly know what was making him so miserable when he didn't even know himself. Beatrice had simply picked up her fork and continued eating after her announcement.

"What is it then?"

"Not telling you."

She paused, chewing thoughtfully on a piece of chicken before swallowing.

"At least, I'm not telling you yet."

"Why not?"

She looked directly into his eyes.

"Because getting through to you enough to help is going to be difficult already. Telling you will put your guard up and you will become convinced that I don't know anything, that I'm just guessing. The thing is, I never just 'guess'. I study people, I listen to them, even when they aren't talking to me. That's how I helped Wes and Trent."

Sebastian was intrigued.

"How did you know what to do for them?"

Beatrice smiled.

"Trent was easy to help. I'd gone to a few Warbler's practices, saw him blush if he got too close to the front of the group. He was a lot like me in that way. All I had to do was trick him into being comfortable around people. I'd seen him singing on his own before, when the rest of the group was doing their homework in the dorm rooms. He's got a great voice, he just needed the encouragement to let people hear it."

Sebastian had just finished his meal during her explanation. Beatrice finished her meat, and was about to finish her milk when Nick and Jeff came over. Nick rested his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you done, Little Bit?"

She smiled up at him.

"Almost."

She swallowed the rest of her milk and took her dishes over to kitchen, grabbing Sebastian's before he could protest. As soon as she had walked away, both Jeff and Nick turned to him.

"How did it go?"

Sebastian looked confused.

"How did what go?"

Thad, Trent, and David had joined them by now. Trent smiled.

"She's got you hooked."

"What?"

David spoke up.

"You're curious. You want to know what she will do to help you, but she won't tell you. You have to let her do what she wants to do in order to find out."

Sebastian looked somewhat alarmed now. Thad clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax. She won't do anything cruel. What has she said to you so far?"

"She, um, she said that she knows why I am the way I am?"

Nick nodded.

"Then she really does."

Jeff smiled at him.

"All you have to do is follow instructions. I know you would rather be in charge, but you need to let her lead you on this, alright? She can't help you as quickly otherwise."

Beatrice came back right then, grabbing Nick's hand tightly. The group left the cafeteria, and right before Sebastian left for his dorm room, he whispered something to Jeff.

"Alright."


	10. Chapter 10

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Chapter 10

Nick and Jeff had led Beatrice back to their room right after supper, knowing that they needed to get their homework done to avoid any last minute panic on Sunday. Nick and Jeff each sat at their desks, Beatrice flopping onto the floor next to Nick's feet. The trio worked in silence, each person perfectly content to be with the others without constantly talking. They finished after three hours of steady work, each feeling exhausted by the vast amount of information they had learned.

Nick stood up and stretched, then offered his hand to Beatrice to help her up. She grasped it and let him pull her to her feet, stretching herself. Jeff had wandered over and flopped onto his bed, reaching his arms toward Beatrice. She let go of Nick and climbed onto Jeff's bed, sitting next to him and rubbing his back gently. He rolled onto his stomach, letting her reach all of his back, and simply relaxed as Beatrice's careful hands eased each knot from his muscles. Nick smiled at the common sight, even though it was something that Beatrice would not allow anybody to do to her. She didn't like people trying to rub her back and shoulders, not even him. He sat on his bed and slowly leaned back until he was laying down, waiting for Beatrice to finish with Jeff. Jeff's back tended to become sore more easily than Nick's, so he didn't mind that Beatrice helped Jeff first. Soon enough, he heard a small giggle from the other bed. He rolled onto his side so he could look over at his sister and his best friend, then burst into laughter.

Jeff was sprawled across the bed, his eyes shut and his face pressed into his pillow. He had apparently been more sore than usual, judging by how relaxed he was now compared to earlier in the evening. He opened one eye when Nick started laughing, then closed it again, clearly too relaxed to respond to him. Beatrice was still giggling as she made her way over to Nick, who rolled onto his back and stretched out one arm. Beatrice curled up next to him. The siblings were quiet for a moment, simply relaxing. Nick eventually spoke.

"You don't need to do my back, you know. You didn't have to do Jeff's either."

Beatrice smiled at him.

"I like doing that though. It's relaxing for me, even if I won't let anybody work on my back. Now, roll over."

Nick smiled and did as he was told. Beatrice knelt beside him and started working each of his muscles. Nick sighed as he felt his muscles relax under Beatrice's hands.

_Apparently I've been more tense than I thought._

The more he thought about it, his tense muscles really shouldn't be all that much of a surprise. He had been working hard recently, trying to finish his homework and Warblers practice was more intense than usual, especially since Sebastian had been making them work hard to prepare for their next concert. The new dance moves were more difficult to do than the side-stepping he was used to, making him sore after each practice. Eventually, Nick gave up on thinking about why he was so tense and just left himself sag into the mattress, his sister's hands working each knot out of his muscles.

Beatrice finally tapped his shoulder and he rolled over, careful not to knock her off of the bed. She went to the bathroom, then came back and climbed past him to the other side of the bed. The siblings curled up under the covers, Beatrice using the same pillow as Nick. Nick registered this as unusual, but didn't ask what was wrong. He knew why she had chosen to sit with Sebastian.

_She must know what's wrong and think that it will be difficult to fix. This should be an interesting way to finish the school year..._

Nick pulled his sister closer and fell asleep, hoping that she could help Sebastian.


	11. Chapter 11

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Chapter 11

Beatrice was awake long before Nick and Jeff were the next morning, partly because she wasn't tired, but mostly because she had something to do that she needed to get away from them to do. She slid out of the bed, easily avoiding waking Nick in the process, then hurriedly got dressed in the bathroom before grabbing some stuff from her bag and leaving. She tread quietly down the hallway, making sure not to wake anybody, until she found the room she was looking for. She knocked on it softly, smiling when she heard movement on the other side. The door swung open onto a room for only one boy, said boy staring at the girl in disbelief.

"Beatrice?"

"Hi, Sebastian. Can I come in?"

He stepped aside so she could enter, closing the door behind her.

"What's going on? Did you get locked out of your brother's room or...?"

"Nope. Snuck out."

Sebastian gaped at her.

"Why?"

Beatrice looked at him.

"Because I wanted to talk to you for a bit."

She sat down on the floor as Sebastian took a seat on his bed.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Life."

"Alright..."

Beatrice stared up at him for a moment, and Sebastian was starting to feel uncomfortable when she finally spoke.

"Did you know that the floors here are actually quite comfortable?"

"What?"

"They are. The carpet is soft, and it's just thick enough that the floor is a very comfortable place to sit."

"No, I didn't know that..."

Sebastian was starting to get nervous.

"Come sit by me."

Beatrice patted the floor beside her. Sebastian got off of the bed, then froze.

"It's alright, you know."

Sebastian looked at her.

"I know you aren't used to it, but you aren't going to get in trouble."

She took his hand and gently pulled him down to the floor.

Sebastian was tense, nearly anyone could have seen that. He was sitting up perfectly straight, his legs stretched out straight in front of him. Beatrice, in contrast, was leaning back on her arms, a habit she picked up from being around Nick and Jeff, and had her legs criss-crossed. She sat up after studying Sebastian for a moment.

"Try leaning back on your arms, you might be more comfortable that way."

He tried it, albeit hesitantly, then smiled when he realized how much better sitting like this actually felt. Beatrice smiled back, then returned to her original position.

"You weren't allowed to sit on the floor before, were you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because my father deemed it inappropriate for a 'young gentleman'."

Beatrice rolled her eyes, though secretly she was already making plans.

"Your father is odd."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Your father is odd. I have to admit, I prefer even numbers."

Sebastian was completely lost. Beatrice giggled.

"I call people who I disagree with 'odd' and those I agree with 'even'. For example, Nick and Jeff are even."

"What about Wes?"

"Even."

"What?"

"He can be odd at times, but he's usually even. He only becomes odd if he's at a more formal event or is at school."

Sebastian swallowed, feeling rather nervous.

"Then, what am I?"

Beatrice grinned at him.

"You are secretly even. You just haven't realized it yet."

There was a knock on the door. Sebastian opened it, sighing in relief when he saw Jeff.

"Hey, is Beatrice here?"

"Yep."

Sebastian let Jeff in. Beatrice got up and hugged Jeff, then waved to Sebastian as they left.

Sebastian closed the door behind them, feeling like he was going to have a very long day.


	12. Chapter 12

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Chapter 12

Nick had just finished getting dressed when Jeff returned with Beatrice. He had texted Santana to let her know that Beatrice was staying with him for the weekend, which resulted in immediate plans to meet for breakfast. Beatrice was thrilled when he told her, and the trio set off, texting David to let him know what was going on. They met Santana less than an hour later, an enthusiastic Beatrice nearly tackling her in greeting. Santana had packed a picnic for breakfast, and they were at the park where Nick, Jeff, and Beatrice had first met Santana. They ate and chatted cheerfully, Beatrice finishing right after Santana. The two girls went over to the swing set while the boys watched. Nick looked over at Jeff.

"Where did you find her this morning?"

"Sebastian's room."

"What was she doing?"

"Sitting on the floor. I don't know anything else though."

Nick sighed.

"Do you think she can help him before the school year ends?"

Jeff considered this.

"Only if he lets her in. We have a few months left, we'll just have to see what happens."

They sat in silence once more, listening to the happy chatter of the two girls. Nick was lost in thought as he watched his sister carefully.

_She has come so far since the incident. Yes, she still has flashbacks, but she has started to trust again. _

* * *

><p>The first few months after Beatrice's incident, even while she was in the hospital, had been rough on everyone, especially Beatrice herself. Upon her arrival, she wouldn't allow any doctors or nurses to touch her, often causing herself more pain in her attempts to avoid them. Her mother and father were the only ones allowed in her room at first, and they couldn't seem to help her relax. Nick and Jeff had waited for hours in the waiting room, both filled with a mixture of anger, fear, and pain. Anger at those who had hurt her, fear at the thought of what might have happened had they not found her, and pain, excruciating pain at the knowledge that Beatrice had been harmed. Nick's mother had finally realized that Nick and Jeff might be able to help Beatrice better than she or her husband could, so they told the doctors to let them into the room.<p>

_The boys quietly entered the room, each feeling a pang at the sight of her. Her face was covered in cuts and bruises. Her left arm was broken, they still didn't know why. Her neck had scratches all over it, her arms were nothing more than masses of bruises and cuts. Her right leg was broken, and both boys wanted to hurt the ones who had harmed her. Nick approached the bed first, letting her see his hands and moving slowly. _

_"Hey, Little Bit. It's Nick-Nick. I brought Jeff with me."_

_Terror-filled eyes focused on him, losing some of their fear as the voice registered as both familiar and safe. _

_"Nick-Nick?"_

_Nick felt tears well up in his eyes._

_"Yeah."_

_The boys saw her attempt to reach towards him before wincing in pain. _

_"Don't move, let me come to you."_

_He reached her bedside and took her right hand gently, stroking the back of it with his thumb. Jeff approached even more slowly than Nick had, and started talking far sooner._

_"Hey, Beatrice. It's Jeff."_

_Beatrice's hand tightened around Nick's, then relaxed when a familiar pair of eyes met hers. _

_"Jeff-Jeff?"_

_Jeff attempted a smile. _

_"Hey."_

_Beatrice allowed him to sit by her, smiling when he ran his fingers through her police entered, followed by Nick's mother and father. Beatrice's grip on Nick's hand tightened to a painful extent, but Nick hid his grimace and squeezed back gently, reassuringly._

* * *

><p><em>The next hour had been hell.<em>

_Beatrice had struggled her way through telling what had happened, and Nick lost any feeling in his hand around halfway through. Nick and Jeff then described how they had found her, called 911, then tried to approach her, failing until they had started humming a lullaby that Nick's mother had always sung when they were younger. The police left, only to be replaced by doctors and nurses. Beatrice had become panicked, especially with Jeff and Nick having stepped back so the doctors could help, and gone into the first of what would become many flashbacks. The nurses asked her parents to calm her, but nothing they did helped. Nick finally lost patience with the fumbling hospital staff. _

_"Little Bit. Odd or even?"_

_Beatrice's eyes lost some of their haziness. Encouraged, Nick tried again._

_"Little Bit, what am I? Odd or even?"_

_Her eyes finally locked on his._

_"Even..."_

_"Why am I even? Why am I not odd?"_

_Nick realized that nearly everyone was watching this exchange with confusion, all except for Jeff, who looked torn between laughing and crying._

_"Because you make sense. You make sense where others do not..."_

_Jeff nudged Nick, who simply nodded._

_"Beatrice..."_

_Jeff had adopted a rather annoying sing-song quality to his voice. Beatrice focused on him._

_"What am I? I don't know what I am!"_

_He was now singing in a style that really wasn't sounding nice, seeing as he was attempting opera._

_Beatrice's lips twitched up into a small smile as Jeff's voice cracked on a high note._

_"Even. Def-definitely even..."_

_She sagged back into the pillows, allowing the hospital staff to work on her._

Nick was torn from his memories by Beatrice tackling him.

"Hey."

He allowed his sister to nestle into him, wrapping his arms around her. Santana and Jeff were watching in amusement.

"I have to get going, I have glee practice today, goodness-knows-why."

Beatrice climbed off of Nick and gave Santana a big hug, which was returned immediately. Santana grabbed the blanket and basket, then gave Beatrice another hug before nodding to the boys and leaving.

"Come on, Little Bit. Let's head back to Dalton."

Beatrice pulled Nick to his feet, then Jeff, taking both of their hands as they walked back to the car.

* * *

><p>The trip back to Dalton was nothing out of the ordinary, and all three were hungry by the time they got there. They went straight to the cafeteria, and all three smiled when they saw what was for lunch.<p>

Pork chops with mashed potatoes and gravy. Peas or corn for the vegetable. And for dessert, chocolate chip cookies.

They grabbed their food and paid for it, then found an empty table. Nick and Jeff sat down, but Beatrice set down her tray and took off, soon returning with a somewhat startled Sebastian. She set his tray down beside hers before sitting and pulling him into the seat next to her. The boys greeted each other, then ate in near silence until David, Trent, and Thad came over. Each gave Beatrice a quick hug before sitting down, and conversation soon began to flow as Trent chatted with Beatrice, David and Thad talked to Sebastian and Jeff about song choices for their next competition, and Nick listened to Beatrice chatter excitedly, keeping a close eye on her. He was the only one who noticed her frequent glances towards Sebastian, as well as the small smile. Or so he thought. Jeff caught his eye, glanced pointedly towards Beatrice, then winked before turning his attention back to David's enthusiastic listing of possible song choices. Nick hid a grin before turning back to his lunch.

* * *

><p>Nick and Beatrice went to his dorm so she could grab one of the books that she was reading with Wes before going to the practice room to meet up with their friends, as well as Sebastian. Beatrice pulled Nick over to the couch that Jeff was on, plopping herself down beside Jeff. Nick sat on her other side, smiling when she snuggled into his side and began to read. The boys talked about their upcoming competition. David received a text and announced that Wes would be coming home for summer vacation the next month, which resulted in an excited Beatrice tackling David. Jeff pulled her off of him, then carried her over to Nick and set her down on the couch. She returned to reading with a grin on her face, and Nick smiled at the amount of happiness that Beatrice got from learning she would get to see her friend soon. David called Blaine, who enthusiastically agreed to meet up with the group, and to tell Kurt about it.<p>

* * *

><p>Many of the boys, despite their apparent happiness, couldn't help feeling like something was about to go severely wrong.<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Author's Note: This chapter has some derogatory terms, as well as some violence. I give fair warning, if you have problems with it, avoid reading after Azimio comes in, and you can pick up reading again once Wes is called.

Chapter 13

Days seemed to drag on, soon becoming filled with preparing for exams. Beatrice studied hard, never leaving the campus of Crawford Country Day during the weeks leading up to her exams. She was more than a little grateful that she made it through without any flashbacks, as were her friends and family. The Warblers made their way through exams, relieved when they were finally over. They had an event they were required to perform at, and Nick was glad that the day began with nothing going wrong.

Too bad it couldn't have stayed that way.

Nick's cell phone vibrated, startling him out of a conversation he was having with Jeff. The Warblers were packed into a bus on their way to their performance, which was 2 hours away from Dalton. He answered it, not expecting any problems.

"_Nick?_"

"Yeah, mom?"

"_I need you to watch Beatrice._"

"Mom, I can't. I'm nowhere near Dalton right now, and I can't go back. I have to perform at this event with the Warblers."

"_Fine. Then get somebody to watch her._"

"Alright. Bye."

"_Bye._"

He called Blaine immediately, hoping that he wouldn't be busy.

"_Hello?_"

"Hey, it's Nick."

"_Hey, what's up?_"

"Can you watch Beatrice for me? Mom just called and..."

He was cut off.

"_Sure. She'll have to come with Kurt and me to the mall, and she'll be seeing Rachel and Mercedes again, plus meeting Finn, Mike, and Tina._"

"Dude, thank you so much. Don't forget, she still isn't fond of Rachel, and she doesn't know Finn, Mike, or Tina at all."

"_Got it. See you when you get back._"

"Bye."

Nick hung up and leaned back in the seat. Jeff looked over at him.

"It'll be fine. She trusts Blaine."

"Yeah. Yeah, she'll be fine."

* * *

><p>Kurt went with Blaine over to Crawford Country Day, feeling rather excited.<p>

"We can look at hats for her now. She'll love it, and I can find some clothes that the hats will match..."

Blaine chuckled as they pulled into the parking lot. They made their way to Beatrice's dorm room, and Blaine knocked on the door. It was pulled open, and they saw Beatrice in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, the t-shirt somewhat baggy and the jeans too long. Blaine smiled.

_I wonder if Nick knows where his old Warblers shirt went? His jeans that are too long on him?_

"Hey, Beatrice. Your parents are being ridiculous."

Beatrice hugged Blaine and Kurt, recognizing the code her brother had set up for when he wasn't able to watch her. She grabbed her room key and wallet, plus her CD, then walked into the hall, shutting and locking the door behind her.

The boys explained their plans to meet up with their friends on the way to the mall, and Beatrice, while nervous, agreed to try to not panic. They reached the mall and met up with the others, Beatrice shaking hands with Mercedes before staying close to Blaine as they shopped. The group had finished lunch, and was about to continue shopping, when Azimio walked up to them. Beatrice noticed as the entire group stiffened.

"Well, if it isn't the two homos and the Nude Erections. Rather fitting that you're in that group, isn't it?"

The group remained silent, trying to go around him.

"Homos shouldn't be allowed here. You might spread your disease to the rest of us."

Azimio swung his fist forward, Blaine closed his eyes and waited for the punch to land.

It never reached him.

He opened his eyes, then wished he had been punched. It would've been better than what was happening.

Punch after punch landed on Beatrice's face before Blaine, Finn, and Mike could get Azimio away from her.

As Azimio fled, the girls and Kurt gathered around Beatrice, who was sprawled on the floor, eyes closed. Blaine dropped to his knees, but it was no use. As the group watched, Beatrice began to spasm and shake, going into another flashback. Blaine tried to make sure that she couldn't hit her head, but there was only so much he could do. Rachel started singing, thinking that her voice would bring Beatrice out of it, but it only made things worse. Blaine, still keeping his grip on Beatrice, thrust his phone at Kurt.

"Call Nick."

"But, Blaine..."

"CALL Nick!"

Kurt found Nick's number and hit send.

"_Hello?_"

"Nick, it's Kurt."

"_What happened?_"

"Beatrice stepped in front of Blaine, and got beat up by a jock. We heard a crack, I think her nose is broken. She's having a real bad flashback, and Blaine can't pull her out of it."

"_Call Wes._"

"What?"

"_CALL WES! He's coming home today, and he should be reaching Lima soon. He can handle her until I can get to the hospital._"

Kurt hung up and called Wes.

"_Hello?_"

"Beatrice got beat up and is having a flashback."

"_Where are you?_"

"Lima mall."

"_I'm almost there._"

Kurt heard a click, then silence. Blaine was still trying to stop Beatrice from hurting herself more.

"Wes is on his way."

"Then all we can really do is wait."

* * *

><p>They didn't have to wait very long.<p>

A mere 5 minutes after Wes had hung up on Kurt, he was running towards them. He dropped to his knees next to Blaine and grabbed Beatrice carefully, purposefully breathing over her face. He kept doing so, not saying a word. The others simply stared. Beatrice finally slowed her shaking after 10 minutes, her eyes gaining some focus. Her eyes finally locked on his before she burst into tears. Wes picked her up and carried her to his car, then drove her to the hospital, the others following.

The group, minus Wes, waited in the lobby of the hospital. Nick, followed by Jeff, David, Thad, Trent, and Sebastian burst through the doors 30 minutes later. Nick had a heated conversation with the nurse at the front desk before she called for the doctor. Finn had immediately gotten angry that Sebastian was there, and likely would have done something about it if the other Warblers, plus Blaine, hadn't formed a barrier around him.

* * *

><p>Wes had been near Beatrice's side ever since he had reached the mall. He had explained that he was the only person who could be near her, since her entire family was elsewhere, and the doctor, upon seeing Beatrice's file, agreed to let him stay. Wes allowed Beatrice to hold his hand in a vice-like grip as the doctor worked on her. Thankfully, she had no broken bones, but the hospital wanted her to stay overnight to make sure nothing was wrong. They had taken x-rays of her skull to make sure no damage had been caused by either Azimio hitting her or her hitting the floor, and Wes had kept watch just outside of that room, just to be the one who held her hand on the way back to her room.<p>

No one had ever quite figured out why he would be able to draw her out of a flashback if Jeff and Nick weren't available, even he couldn't explain it. His best guess was that she recognized his eyes and his scent as being distinct from everyone else's, similar to how Nick and Jeff could use their voices to pull her out of it. Nick had a distinct scent, voice, eye color, and way that he held her, each little detail one that made Beatrice recognize her brother. Jeff could use his eyes and voice. He couldn't say for sure why certain people could pull Beatrice out of a flashback and others couldn't. What he could say, with a fair bit of certainty, was that he felt some sort of connection with her. He had felt it the first day that he had met her, before she had helped him become less strict.

_The boys were filing into the room as Wes watched from his seat behind the council's desk. He watched in some confusion as a woman walked in, pulling a girl behind her. Nick leapt to his feet, as did Jeff, and Wes watched as they each hugged the girl before turning to the woman. The other members of the council took their places, and the woman pulled the girl up to them, Nick and Jeff following close behind. While the head of council talked with the woman, Wes studied the girl and listened to the conversation. He couldn't help noticing how nervous she looked before Nick took her hand. _

_'Why do I want to help her relax?'_

_He focused back on the conversation in time to hear an agreement made that the girl would be seated behind the desk during rehearsal. He watched as the girl hugged her mother, then Nick and Jeff. The head of council pointed to the patch of floor between himself and Wes, so the girl had sat there, looking rather nervous and exhausted. _

_Practice began, a run-through of their songs for sectionals before the council members sat down to discuss the performance with the others. Wes listened as the third council member said what he thought, then opened his mouth to speak. He hadn't gotten a word out before he felt a slight pressure on his leg. He looked down._

_The words didn't make it off of his lips._

_He had been prepared to point out so many problems, and not in a particularly kind manner, but now he was just staring at the girl. She had fallen asleep, then tipped towards him, her head landing on his lap. He watched in amazement as her eyes fluttered open slightly before shutting again, then as she simply pressed her head into his leg. He looked up at the Warblers, who were waiting for his opinion with some nervousness, and smiled._

_"That was a good run through, but there are some spots that need to be worked on..."_

Wes looked up as Nick entered the room, then looked over at Beatrice. She was fast asleep, still holding onto his hand. Nick walked over and took the seat next to him.

"How is she?"

"The doctor wants to keep her here overnight, just to make sure she didn't do any damage when she fell or anything. Other than that, she gets to leave tomorrow morning once mom or dad sign her out."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Did you know, that I used to think that nobody would ever be able to calm her after a flashback besides me and Jeff?"

"No, I didn't know that."

Nick sighed.

"I try so hard to protect her, but I can't even do that right."

Wes turned to him as much as he could.

"Nick, you do protect her. You have no idea how much you mean to her, how much you help her get through everything that life throws at her."

Nick snorted.

"Yeah, right. She's lying in a hospital bed. I must protect her really well."

"Stop it. Listen to me. When we were in the car on the way here, she said something. I don't think she was trying to talk even, she was just so out of it that the words slipped out."

"What did she say?"

"She said 'Nick'. Not 'Jeff', not 'Wes', not 'mom' or 'dad'. She said 'Nick'. Whenever we talk on the phone and we're talking about our lives, she says maybe two sentences about her school before she starts telling me about what you've been up to, what you guys did the last time you saw each other. You mean the world to her."

Nick's eyes filled with tears.

"And, as much as it hurts to see her like this, I know that you will be able to help her through it like no one else ever could. You are more than just her older brother, you're her best friend."

The tears fell. Beatrice stirred, then saw Nick.

"Nick..."

The boys jumped and turned towards her, Nick trying to hurriedly wipe away his tears. Beatrice squeezed Wes's hand.

"Thank you."

"Of course."

Wes stood and left the room.

"Nick?"

"Yeah, Beatrice?"

"Come up here with me? Please?"

"Sure, Little Bit."

Nick laid down on the bed and allowed her to snuggle into him, instantly soothed by each point where they were touching. He got comfortable, Beatrice adjusting to each movement, then stayed still. He looked over at her and smiled when he realized she had fallen asleep.

He wrapped his arms around her protectively before drifting off to sleep, glad that she was safe again.


	14. Chapter 14

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Chapter 14

When Wes returned to the lobby, he could almost see the tension in the air. The New Directions, minus Blaine, were glaring at the Warblers, who had formed a barrier between them and Sebastian. Blaine was with the Warblers, though Wes could see that it hurt him to disagree with his boyfriend. Wes cleared his throat.

"No broken bones, but she'll have some bruises for a while."

Rachel stood.

"Good. That should teach her to spy on us. She didn't learn anything anyways."

"Shut up!"

The entire group jumped. The normally sweet, understanding, happy Jeff was currently trembling with rage.

"She wasn't spying! We have no reason to spy on you and she wouldn't spy for anybody anyways!"

Rachel opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Blaine.

"Rachel, if she was going to spy, don't you think she would have done that last year when we were actually competing against each other? She certainly wouldn't have done so this year, seeing as she knows that I'm in the New Directions. She has met Kurt, heck she likes Kurt. It normally takes her a while to get used to people, but she does become incredibly loyal once she does."

"Even if she isn't spying, Sebastian shouldn't be here."

Wes stepped forward.

"You don't have the right to decide who is here or not. Sebastian is worried about Beatrice too. He's also important to her, even though she isn't that close to him yet."

Nick came back from Beatrice's room, looking a little weary. All of the Warblers, Wes, Blaine, Kurt, and even Mercedes, Mike, and Tina, sprang to their feet.

"How is she doing?"

Jeff looked worried.

"She's asleep now."

Nick looked over at Blaine and Kurt.

"Thank you for getting help for her. Really."

They both nodded. Wes turned to Nick.

"Finn and Mike helped Blaine get the guy away from her."

Nick turned to them.

"Thank you. Thank you so, so much."

Rachel stormed out. Finn looked at Kurt.

"Can you let me know how she's doing when you get home?"

"Yeah."

Finn followed Rachel. Mike, Tina, and Mercedes left soon after, but the Warblers stayed behind. Blaine and Kurt were now sitting next to each other, both looking worried. Wes sat down, then pulled Nick into the chair next to him.

"You aren't going to help her any by stressing out."

Nick opened his mouth, then closed it when he saw the expression on Wes's face. They remained seated for 10 minutes before hearing movement from Beatrice's room. Nick and Jeff practically sprang out of their chairs and bolted for her room. They were at her bedside in seconds, immediately trying to draw her out of her most recent flashback. Nick climbed onto the bed and pulled her into his lap. Jeff took her hands in his, squeezing gently every few moments. The two boys looked at each other, both realizing that this would be happening a lot more often in the coming weeks. Nick started whispering to Beatrice.

"Come on, Little Bit. You have to pull out of this. Jeff wants to talk to you, the Warblers all want to see you. I want to tell you all about our performance. You're safe now. I've got you, and I'm not letting go. You mean so much to me. Come back, Little Bit."

Beatrice slowly opened her eyes, looking around for her brother. Their eyes met and her shaking slowed. Jeff kept her hands in his, not saying a word.

"Nick...?"

Nick smiled.

"Welcome back, Little Bit."

Beatrice became aware of the hands that were holding hers and looked over. Jeff winked at her.

"Hey, Beatrice."

She smiled back at him, then squeezed his hands. He let go, so she wrapped her arms around her brother, who returned the hug happily. She then hugged Jeff, still a bit shaky, but the boys were glad that she had pulled back from the flashback.

"How...How did the performance go?"

Nick smiled.

"It actually went pretty well. David has some cool new dance moves, and the audience seemed to really like them."

Beatrice smiled back, curling into Nick.

"That's good."

She looked over at Jeff.

"Did you get your solo yet?"

Jeff shook his head.

"I'm trying out for the next one."

"Okay..."

Beatrice's eyes started to drift shut. Nick held her closer to him, leaning back against the pillows.

"Get some sleep, Little Bit. Dad should be here in the morning to sign you out."

"No leave me."

The words were slurred.

"I won't."

"Jeff?"

Jeff smiled and hugged her.

"I'll stay too. The other guys need to go back to Dalton though."

Beatrice nodded.

"Okay..."

She slumped further into her brother, now completely asleep. Jeff left to tell the others what was going on, leaving Nick to relax into the pillows behind him, leaving room for Jeff. Jeff came back and climbed up on the bed. Both boys soon drifted off to sleep, taking comfort in knowing that they knew exactly where Beatrice was.

* * *

><p>The next day brought a very early wake-up call for both Nick and Jeff. The doctor has bustled into the room to check on Beatrice, who was still asleep. Nick slowly sat up and touched her shoulder.<p>

"Little Bit, time to wake up."

Her eyes opened slowly before focusing on Nick.

"The doctor wants to check to make sure you didn't get any head injuries, then we can go home once dad gets here."

Beatrice nodded, then looked over at Jeff.

"Jeff-Jeff."

She reached one hand towards him, which he immediately grasped in his own. She slowly slid out of Nick's lap, allowing him to stand and stretch, trying to regain some feeling in his legs. Jeff stood and pulled Beatrice to her feet, where she immediately grabbed Nick's hand. The trio followed the doctor down the hall, and Nick and Jeff waited patiently as Beatrice's head was examined. She flew out of the room and into Nick's arms when they were done, so he picked her up and carried her back down to her room. The doctor came back shortly and explained that there was no damage done besides her bruising and a couple of scratches. Nick's dad came in after an hour, then signed Beatrice out and took the three to Dalton.


	15. Chapter 15

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Chapter 15

Nick and Beatrice followed Jeff to the dorm room in silence, Nick allowing Beatrice to cling to his hand. They had just gotten up the stairs and turned a corner when they saw Wes waiting outside of their room.

"All of the boys want to see her, but we thought that she might have a rough time with a crowd, even if it is made up of people she knows."

Nick nodded, then smiled as Beatrice let go of his hand and slowly walked over to Wes. Wes opened his arms, so Beatrice wrapped hers around him, holding on tight. Wes ran his hands through her hair slowly, occasionally working a knot out with careful fingers. Jeff opened the door to their room and the group went inside, Wes walking backwards so Beatrice could hold onto him as they went in. Wes sat down on Jeff's bed since it was closer to the door, and Beatrice let go of him so she could climb up on the bed and rest her head in his lap. Nick and Jeff sat on Nick's bed, watching as Wes smoothed Beatrice's hair back from her face. Nick remembered that he still had some cream for bruises left over from the first incident, so he grabbed it from the drawer of his nightstand and approached the other bed. Beatrice smiled when she saw him sit down by her, but it quickly faded when she saw the jar in his hand.

"I know you don't like this stuff, Little Bit, but it does seem to help your bruises."

Beatrice sighed and sat up, squirming until she could lay her head in Nick's lap. Nick smiled reassuringly as he took the cap off of the jar and dipped his hand into the cream, but he struggled to keep smiling as he applied it to Beatrice's face. There were cuts on Beatrice's face, and whenever the ointment got into a cut, Beatrice would flinch, making her other bruises throb. Jeff soon sat by them, grabbing one of Beatrice's hands as Wes grabbed the other. Nick worked slowly and carefully, finishing without getting the ointment into too many cuts. There was a knock on the door, so Wes got up to answer it. David stood in the doorway, looking nervous.

"Can I come in?"

Wes looked back at Beatrice, who nodded, then winced as her bruises throbbed again. Wes stepped aside and David walked over to the bed and sat by Beatrice, who promptly reached for his hand.

"Hey, you. How are you holding up?"

"I hate bruises."

Beatrice whimpered as talking sent a jolt of sharp pain through the bruises along her jaw line.

"You know, I remember when I had first joined the Warblers. We were supposed to learn how to flip for one of our numbers."

Wes turned pink. He remembered this all too well. David continued.

"Wes didn't know how, so he came up to me and asked for help. We met after class in the Warbler practice room, then moved some furniture so we would have some room. I explained what to do, then showed him. I told him to give it a try, so he did."

David chuckled.

"What happened?"

Beatrice looked rather curious now.

"He, and to this day I haven't figured out how, managed to land semi-decently, only to stumble when he went to take a step and crashed into the music cupboard. That isn't even the funniest part."

"What is it?"

"When I say that he crashed into the cupboard, I mean that the door was open, he somehow wound up inside of it, and the door shut behind him."

David, Jeff, and Nick all started laughing, as did Beatrice. Wes smiled and shook his head. As the others stopped laughing, he spoke.

"David, let's not forget the rather, _interesting_ sounds that you managed to make during your voice change."

Jeff and Nick burst into laughter.

"It wasn't my fault that my voice kept cracking!"

"David, you managed to make the head Warbler think there was a particularly musical mouse in the room."

Beatrice giggled, then stopped as her bruises throbbed. The boys all stopped laughing when they saw her yawn, then attempt to curl up to get away from the pain. David let go of her hand, as did Jeff, and Nick pulled her carefully into his arms.

"Jeff, would you mind bringing me a snack when you get back from lunch? I think she'll sleep until supper, but I don't want to leave her."

Jeff smiled.

"Sure. See you when I get back."

Jeff followed Wes and David out of the room as Beatrice's eyes drifted shut.

* * *

><p>Nick was correct. Once asleep, Beatrice wound up sleeping until it was time for supper. She went to dinner with her brother and Jeff, flinching as they entered the crowded cafeteria. Both boys held her hands tight, and she relaxed soon after seeing Wes walking towards them. They got their food, then sat down by David. Trent wandered over, then Thad. Sebastian was the last to make his way over, not sure if he was wanted at that table. Trent pointed to the seat beside him, so Sebastian sat down, looking at Beatrice. Trent whispered to him.<p>

"Try not to stare at her, she'll think that she did something wrong if she sees you looking at her. I know the bruises and cuts kind of catch your attention, but don't mention them unless one of the others do, alright?"

Sebastian nodded, then looked down at his food. The boys started talking, working Sebastian into their conversation as Beatrice sat silently and ate her dinner carefully. David's cell phone went off.

"Hello?"

"_David, it's Blaine. Kurt and I wanted to know how she's doing._"

"She's doing well enough. In a fair bit of pain from the bruises, but there isn't much that we can do about that."

"_Can I talk to her?_"

David glanced along the table to where Beatrice was sitting.

"Beatrice?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to talk to Blaine?"

Beatrice's eyes filled with tears.

"I can't...not yet..."

Nick gave her a comforting hug.

"Blaine, she can't right now. She's having trouble talking much without making the pain worse, maybe you could try tomorrow?"

"_Alright. Thanks. Talk to you later._"

"Bye."

* * *

><p>"Alright. Thanks. Talk to you later."<p>

Kurt watched as Blaine ended the call, hoping for some good news.

"How is she?"

Blaine took a deep breath.

"She's in pain, her bruises seem to be making it hard for her to talk without the pain getting worse."

Finn and Rachel walked into the living room, both looking obnoxiously cheerful to Blaine.

"Who were you talking to?"

"David. Beatrice is still in a lot of pain, especially if she talks."

Finn's smile faded. Rachel launched into the reasons why this could be a good thing, only stopping when Blaine snapped.

"Shut up! This isn't a good thing at all! Beatrice stepped in front of me to protect me, and got beat up for it."

Rachel huffed impatiently.

"I know that, I was there. It's a good thing because she can't tell the Warblers anything about us if it hurts for her to talk, and they will be distracted during competition because they're worrying about her."

Blaine looked as though he had been slapped. Kurt spoke up.

"Rachel, we aren't even competing against the Warblers this year."

Blaine regained his composure.

"Rachel, you don't know Beatrice, so let me tell you something about her."

Rachel leaned forward, thinking that she was about to get some information that could help them win if they faced the Warblers ever again.

"She's...loyal. Supportive. If she becomes a person's friend, the friendship usually lasts for a long time. But, no matter how loyal she is to her friends, there is one person that she would risk her life for time and again."

"Who is it?"

"Nick. Her brother practically raised her, and he was the first person to get through to her, to bring her out of her first flashback. You'll never sway her loyalty, and going after Nick or anyone that she is close to will result in disaster for you."

Rachel was speechless. She turned and stormed out of the room, Finn hurrying after her. Kurt looked at Blaine.

"You know it's not your fault that she got hurt, right?"

"I volunteered to look after her, Kurt. I could've backed out of the mall trip, or stopped Azimio sooner. I could've taken the punches instead."

Blaine was sobbing by this point. As Kurt gathered Blaine into his arms, Blaine's cell phone rang. He grabbed it and answered it.

"Hello?"

"_Blaine? Why are you crying, what happened?_"

He started crying harder when he heard the soft voice on the other end of the line. He listened as Beatrice told her brother that 'Blaine is sad. We need to help him', then as Nick's voice drifted through the line.

"_Blaine, what's going on?_"

"It's my fault she got hurt!"

Nick sighed.

"_Blaine, you need to listen to me. It's not your fault. Beatrice knew that she would get hit when she stepped in front of you. She would have done the same for anybody that she truly cared about. You helped her more than you know._"

"How did I help? All I did was get her into the mess to begin with!"

"_Not true. When she started spasming, you held her so she wouldn't hurt herself more. Wes told me everything that he saw and heard about the event. You didn't allow her to become injured beyond what she did, and that makes it that much easier to help her._"

Blaine's sobs had quieted, and he heard the phone being handed to someone else.

"_Blaine?_"

He gave a small smile.

"Yeah, Beatrice?"

"_Thank you for helping me._"

He heard a click that signaled the other phone being hung up. He dropped his phone and buried his face in Kurt's neck, sobbing. This time, instead of tears of sadness, they were tears of relief.


	16. Chapter 16

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Author's Note: Hello! Thanks to all of you have read up to this point, whether you're new to the story, or have been here since the first chapter. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, and a big thank you to R5inmysoul, who has been reviewing constantly in an attempt to get me to update(it seems to be working). R5inmysoul, I'm not sure if your remember, but you did ask about me possibly doing a chapter with Jeff, so here it is. Thanks again, everyone!

Chapter 16

The students at both Dalton and Crawford Country Day had only two weeks left before summer vacation. They were grateful for this, but really couldn't think much about it since they were studying constantly. Exams were coming up, resulting in higher-than-normal stress levels. The students at McKinley weren't nearly as worried about exams, so the members of New Directions had to deal with an irritating Rachel instead. Beatrice, on top of the studying that she had to do, was experiencing frequent flashbacks. There was nothing that Nick or Jeff could do with how busy they were, so her parents were relieved when Wes volunteered to look after her. With Wes's soothing presence, Beatrice began to experience fewer flashbacks from stress. Everyone got through exams, relieved once they were through. Beatrice moved all of her personal stuff back home, happy that she would be with Nick and Jeff again.

* * *

><p>Jeff knocked on the front door of Nick's house two weeks after school had let out, happy for the chance to visit the pair that he considered to be the siblings he never had. He waited patiently until he heard footsteps, then took a step back so he would be ready to catch Beatrice if she came flying at him.<p>

It never happened.

A clearly exhausted Nick answered the door, looking miserable.

"Dude, are you okay?"

"Beatrice...sick. Mom and Dad...out of country...business trip."

Nick swayed and Jeff barely caught him before he toppled over.

"Come on, let's get you to your room so you can sleep. I'll take care of Beatrice."

Nick attempted to protest, then realized that he was too tired to do so.

"Thanks."

Jeff dragged Nick up to his room, putting him to bed before wandering down the hall to Beatrice's room. He gently knocked on the door, then eased it open. His eyes widened at what he saw inside.

A garbage can was overflowing with used tissues, two new boxes of them sat by a bottle of cold medicine and a bag of cough drops on the nightstand beside her bed. Beatrice herself was in bed, curled up under three blankets. She looked exhausted and worried.

_She must be worrying about how tired Nick is after taking care of her. How long have their parents been gone?_

Her eyes fluttered open when she heard the door creak, then she attempted a smile when she saw Jeff. Jeff kicked off his shoes, then grabbed the garbage can and took it away to empty it before returning to her room. He was glad that he was wearing a tank top and shorts, especially since he would likely be running around a lot. For now, he carefully pulled back her blankets and slipped into the bed, allowing her to curl into his side. He patiently waited for her to fall asleep, then got out of the bed and went to check on Nick.

* * *

><p>Nick was still asleep, so Jeff crept down to the kitchen to find some food. He opened the fridge, then groaned aloud. The fridge was practically empty, meaning that Nick must have been running on little more than water and coffee. He clearly hadn't had the chance to make soup for Beatrice, and Jeff couldn't help thinking that he was lucky to have parents who tried to limit the number of business trips they took.<p>

_Nick had had to practically raise Beatrice, with very little help from the maid that his parents had hired to help raise him. The maid was lazy, and Nick, at the age of ten, had gotten annoyed at how little she did. He, with some help from Jeff, convinced his parents that he could take care of Beatrice, practically did already, thus eliminating the need for a maid. His parents agreed, firing the maid and beginning to put more money into Nick's and Beatrice's college funds than they had previously. Nick had always been patient with Beatrice, even during the more awkward events of buying her first bra and surviving her first period (during which she had had excruciating cramps and become extremely emotional). No matter the issue, Nick dealt with it, frequently having to go to the library or online in an attempt to find out how he could best help his sister. Jeff helped to the best of his ability, bringing his mother in to help with the issues that the two boys could not fix._

Jeff closed the fridge and opened the freezer, smiling when he saw a bag of chicken. He pulled it out and set it on the counter, then began digging through the pantry. He found some chicken broth, then two cans of corn, plus a can of green beans. He carefully set them on the counter before returning to his search. He finally found the packet of seasoning he had been looking for, which he was quite relieved to have found. He retrieved a pot from the cupboard, some utensils from the drawer, then got to work. Soon, the soup was simmering on the stove and Jeff was stirring it carefully. He was almost done when he heard the floor creak behind him. Without looking up, he knew who it was.

"You should still be asleep, you about fell over earlier. I know better than to send you back to bed, so you have to eat something instead."

He turned the stove off and retrieved a few bowls from the cupboard, along with soup spoons. He dished up some soup for himself and Nick, then pushed the bowl into Nick's hand and directed him to the table. Nick went obediently, not really wanting to argue when his friend had given him real food to eat.

"When did they leave?"

Nick sighed.

"Last week. They left Friday, and Beatrice started getting sick on Saturday. I managed to get her fever down, but she's still congested."

"When did you last eat real food?"

Nick turned red.

"Friday? After that I was focused on getting her fever down and keeping it down. I've been trying to get her to eat, but she isn't willing to eat very much."

The boys finished eating, then Jeff stood up.

"You are going back to bed. If you haven't eaten any real food since Friday, I know you haven't slept much, even with her temperature returning to normal. You need to sleep, I'll take care of her."

Nick gave him a weak, but genuine, smile.

"Thanks, man."

Jeff grinned.

"No problem. Now, go back to bed."

"Yes, sir."

Jeff watched as Nick trudged back up the stairs to his room, then rinsed their dishes and got some soup ready to take up to Beatrice.

* * *

><p>Jeff cautiously made his way up the stairs an hour later, having warmed up the bowl of soup. He reached Beatrice's room and smiled when he saw her still asleep. He hated the very idea of having to wake her up, but did so anyways, knowing that she needed to eat something so she could get well. He set the bowl of soup on her nightstand before sitting on the edge of the bed.<p>

"Beatrice. Beatrice, wake up..."

He gently tapped her shoulder as he spoke, soon succeeding in making her open her eyes.

"You need to eat."

Jeff helped her to sit up, then grabbed the bowl and spoon. He held on to the bowl as Beatrice shakily scooped soup into her mouth, smiling when he noticed that the seasoning in the soup was doing its job. Not only did the soup taste better with it, but it was helping to clear her sinuses. She finally finished the bowl and leaned back further into her pillows. Jeff set the dishes on the nightstand before climbing into the bed, humming a short lullaby that he could remember Nick's mother singing when they were little. Beatrice soon drifted off to sleep, but as she did, Jeff heard her mutter something.

"Thanks, Jeff-Jeff."

He smiled as she curled into his side and her breathing evened out. He planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

"You're welcome, Beatrice."

He fell asleep shortly afterwards, not having much else he could do without disturbing her.

* * *

><p>Nick crept down the hall two hours later, having regained enough energy to check on his sister and Jeff. He carefully pushed the door to her room open, then smiled at the sight before him.<p>

Jeff was sprawled out on his back, half of his body sticking out from under the blankets, while Beatrice was curled up on her side, currently using Jeff's chest as a pillow. Nick carefully approached the bed, planted a kiss in Beatrice's hair, then left the room, figuring that he would get some more sleep while he could.


	17. Chapter 17

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Author's Note: Hello again! If I remember correctly, this is basically the longest chapter that this story has had so far. I do have a question for you though. Do you find the relationship between Nick and Beatrice strange? They are brother and sister, and I wanted to make them be close, but I also don't want anybody to get the wrong idea about them. Please review and let me know what you think! On with the story!

Chapter 17

Beatrice was finally well again about three days after Jeff came to visit. Nick had gotten enough sleep after that afternoon, so he and Jeff had taken turns taking care of her. She seemed somewhat antsy to both boys, but neither of them were quite sure why.

* * *

><p>Beatrice woke up early one morning, about a week after Jeff had first come to visit. She smiled when she realized that both boys were facing her with their arms wrapped protectively around her. She scooted so she was closer to her brother, smiling when she felt his arms tighten around her waist. She rolled onto her side so she could face him, then waited.<p>

Nick had definitely been the main consistency in her life. Her parents were great, sure, but they had to travel a lot for business. Nick had been the one to walk her to her classroom the first day of kindergarten, had helped her with homework, and had even been the one who took her to buy her first bra. That, admittedly, had been awkward for both siblings, but Nick had gotten them through it. With their parents being gone on a regular basis, Beatrice had started creeping into Nick's room at a young age due to nightmares. He had always allowed her to curl up beside him, his scent and warmth soothing her into sleep. Eventually, they had decided to simply prevent the nightmares by having Beatrice stay in Nick's room, only separating when their parents were home. Beatrice typically woke up first, and would usually wait for Nick to wake up before she went anywhere. Nick always seemed to wake up the same way. First, his arms would wrap around either her or his pillow. Next, his lips would twitch up into a smile. His eyes would slowly open, and if Beatrice was there, his smile would turn into a grin when he saw her.

Beatrice didn't have to wait very long. His arms had already tightened around her waist, so his lips were soon twitching up into a smile. Beatrice patiently waited, not really in a hurry to get up when she felt so safe. After a few minutes, she watched as his eyes fluttered open, revealing brown orbs the same shade as her own. She felt her own smile widen as her brother's stretched into a familiar grin.

"Good morning, Beatrice."

"Good morning, Nick."

They both looked over at Jeff, then back at each other.

"Should we wake him up?"

Beatrice considered.

"Give him another minute? I...I was kind of hoping that we could visit Sebastian today?"

Nick nodded.

"Sure. Do you think you can help him?"

"Yeah. I don't know how long it will take, possibly until you guys graduate, but it will be worth it. There's a really good guy underneath all of the formalities and attempts at acting like he's better than everyone else."

"Somehow, I believe you. Which is difficult to do after the slushie incident."

Beatrice nodded.

"I know that it's hard to believe, but I am pretty sure that I know why he acts the way he does. And, to be honest, I think that anybody could start to act the way he does with what he's had to deal with."

The siblings were silent for a moment, then Nick grinned.

"I think we've given Jeff more than a minute, don't you?"

Beatrice laughed.

"Yeah."

"One...two...THREE!"

Beatrice rolled over on top of Jeff, then started giggling as her brother started tickling him.

* * *

><p>Nick, Jeff, and Beatrice left the house two hours later. Jeff was still pretending to be upset by how they had woken him up, but his arms over their shoulders as they walked suggested that he wasn't nearly as mad as he was acting. They piled into the car and made the short drive to Sebastian's house. Beatrice was chatting happily on the way there, leading the boys to think that she was actually happy about needing to visit Sebastian's home to help him. Which, to be honest, wasn't the case at all.<p>

Beatrice was wishing that she didn't have to go to Sebastian's house in order to help him. She had the feeling that there would be tears shed by the time they left, and she didn't want him to have any reason to cry. She did feel, however, that a major breakthrough would be made if he did wind up crying, so she was determined to work until she could break down his barriers a bit. It would be easier if he didn't have himself guarded like a fortress, but she couldn't exactly blame him. His mother had died when he was quite young, leaving him with a father who, while he had been career-oriented to begin with, completely threw himself into his career after his wife had died. Sebastian had been raised by servants who couldn't have cared less whether he was happy, only that he followed all of his father's rules at all times. With no siblings or pets, Sebastian had had a rather lonely childhood. Even after his father had remarried, he hadn't had anyone to really talk to. His stepmother was far from kind, often making snide remarks towards him. Following the rules that his father had created made it nearly impossible for him to make friends at school, so he hid his loneliness behind his so-called leadership abilities. He had switched schools frequently before arriving at Dalton, and he had long since given up on the idea of making friends, preferring to have short relationships that were always over before he had to move again so he wouldn't have any strings tying him to a school or city. Dalton was the first school he had spent much time at, and he would surely crumble once Beatrice really went after him.

Beatrice was so deep in thought that she almost didn't notice when they pulled up in front of Sebastian's house. She sat perfectly still as Nick parked the car and turned it off, then got out and followed the boys up to the front door. Nick reached out and knocked. The door opened to reveal a butler, who looked like he was trying to hide his surprise.

"May I help you?"

Nick cleared his throat.

"We would like to talk to Sebastian."

"Do come in..."

The trio stepped into the house cautiously, wondering what the inside would look like. Beatrice smiled at what she saw.

They were in a large entry hall, a chandelier hung high overhead, and a wide staircase was situated on the opposite side of the room from them.

"Please wait here."

They thanked the butler and returned to looking around the room. Soon, Sebastian was making his way down the stairs at a snail's pace. His father's rules weren't enforced anymore, as the servants didn't particularly care as long as they could keep their jobs, but Sebastian was used to becoming even more tense at home than he was at school. Beatrice had thought of this ahead of time, so she was well-prepared with a plan to fix it.

"SEBASTIAN!"

Nick and Jeff burst into laughter as Sebastian jumped slightly. Beatrice took off running, colliding with Sebastian on the middle landing of the staircase. He stumbled, but soon regained his footing, and hesitantly returned her hug. Nick and Jeff waited at the bottom of the stairs as Beatrice grabbed Sebastian's hand and proceeded to pull him down the rest of the staircase. Sebastian was clearly startled, as was the butler who had just started to make his way down the staircase. Sebastian greeted the two boys once he was on the ground floor, looking rather startled that they were at his house. Nick glanced at Beatrice, who grinned before looking back at Sebastian.

"I got bored at home. I wanted to come see you."

Sebastian felt his throat tighten and his eyes well up with tears. He blinked them away before the butler could notice.

"Mister Sebastian, would you like me to have the cook prepare refreshments for yourself and your guests?"

Beatrice tugged on Nick's hand, then whispered something to him. He nodded, then looked at Sebastian.

"She has an idea that might be fun, if you're interested?"

Sebastian looked at Beatrice for a minute, then nodded.

"We would need the kitchen though..."

Sebastian turned to the butler.

"Please inform cook that we will be doing something in the kitchen."

The butler nodded and went to inform the cook what was going on.

Sebastian looked at Beatrice again.

"What are we going to be doing in the kitchen?"

Beatrice grinned.

"Making the best cake EVER!"

The group turned to follow Sebastian into the kitchen. As Beatrice grabbed onto his hand, Sebastian couldn't help thinking that, no matter what it wound up tasting like, it really would be the best cake ever.

* * *

><p>Entering the kitchen, Sebastian watched Beatrice closely, wondering what she thought. He hadn't been in the room recently, his father insisting that he make the servants prepare food for him instead. He could only see it as a large, clean room. Judging by the look on Beatrice's face, however, it was really quite impressive. He led the group over to the cook, who looked somewhat hassled. Beatrice immediately picked up on the mood the cook was in.<p>

"Hello. I'm Beatrice. Is there anything we can help with?"

The cook looked over at her.

"I have to prepare food for a banquet tonight. I haven't finished the hors d'ourves, and I need to figure out a dessert to make as well."

Beatrice smiled at her.

"What if the four of us made a cake and decorated it for the dessert while you worked on the hors d'ourves?"

The cook stared.

"That...would be _wonderful_. Thank you so much, Miss. I can't tell you how much that would help."

The cook started to make the hors d'ourves while the teenagers washed their hands. Beatrice looked at her brother when they were done.

"Half vanilla, half chocolate?"

Nick looked at Sebastian.

"Would that work? Or do we need to figure something else out?"

Sebastian looked confused.

"Um..."

Beatrice scurried over to where the cook was working and had a quick discussion with her. She returned looking rather pleased.

"She says that that will be perfect. Let's get to work."

The group started to work on the cake, following the design Beatrice had in mind. They were going to make a tiered cake, then all four of them would decorate it. While Nick and Jeff worked on mixing the ingredients, Beatrice dragged Sebastian over to a clear stretch of counter so they wouldn't be in the way. She pulled a small notepad and a pen out of her pants pocket, then sketched three squares, each smaller than the last.

"Alright, do you know what the banquet is for?"

"It's more of a...gathering for families that have money and live nearby."

Beatrice perked up slightly.

"Families...there are going to be children there as well?"

Sebastian nodded slowly, wondering where she was going with this. Beatrice hurried over to her brother and asked for his cell phone. He gave it to her after she explained what was going on, and she practically danced back over to Sebastian's side.

"Why are you so happy about this?"

Beatrice grinned at him.

"You aren't going to be bored at this party."

Sebastian stared at her.

"Why would you think that? It's always the same, a bunch of people in ridiculous clothing talking down to the servants and pretending to like each other, only to insult them after they leave."

Beatrice set her hand on his shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes.

"You won't be bored because you won't be alone. Mom and Dad are coming to the party, Jeff's parents are coming to the party. That means that Nick, Jeff, and I will be at the party. I know that Wes is coming, as well as several other Warblers. None of us made the connection as to whose family was hosting the party, but they will be more than willing to come if I explain what is going on."

Beatrice dialed a number and waited.

"Wes? It's Beatrice. The party that is tonight, it's being held at Sebastian's house...I'm definitely going, as are Nick and Jeff...Could you rally the group of people who were invited? It's going to be miserable otherwise, especially since I know that Mom is bringing some ridiculously fancy dress for me to wear...Thanks! Love ya. Bye."

She ended the call and pocketed the phone.

"He's going to call the others. This is going to be great!"

The timer on the oven buzzed, signaling that the cakes were ready. Nick and Jeff checked them carefully, then pulled them out to cool. Beatrice smiled once her brother and friend reached the stretch of counter she was standing by.

"Alright, since it is summer, and there are going to be women and children here, I think we should do this..."

* * *

><p>The group had assembled and decorated the cake following Beatrice's instructions, and they couldn't help being pleased with the result. The party was to start at six o'clock, so Nick, Jeff, and Beatrice went to their homes to change. Nick's parents had, as expected, bought a ridiculously fancy dress for Beatrice to wear, but she did escape having to wear it when Nick put it on and had her put his suit on before they went to show their parents. Their parents had immediately agreed to return the dress, then insisted that Nick take Beatrice shopping to find a new one. It was four o'clock by the time Nick and Beatrice had found a new dress and returned home, so they hurried up to their rooms to change. Nick soon emerged from his room, looking incredibly handsome in his black suit. He hurried down the hall and knocked on Beatrice's door.<p>

"Are you almost ready, Little Bit?"

"Just a moment, please."

Nick had to hide a grin when he heard his sister adjust her voice and manner of speaking in preparation for the party. Soon, the door swung open, revealing a frowning Beatrice in high heels and the dress they had picked out.

"High heels are horrid."

Nick chuckled.

"Take them off until we get to the party. You can slip them on in the car once we get there. I'll just have to carry you out to the car."

Beatrice hugged him.

"Thank you!"

He grinned and hugged her back.

"No problem."

"Nick! Beatrice! It's time to go!"

"Coming!"

Nick waited for Beatrice to take off her shoes and grab her purse, then picked her up and carried her down the stairs. Their mother sighed when she saw the two of them.

"Must you allow her to avoid high heels?"

Nick smiled.

"She will be in pain tomorrow if I don't. It's much easier to let her postpone having to wear them."

Their father opened the door and the family walked out to the limo that they had hired. They were soon settled inside and on their way to Jeff's house. Nick jumped out of the car once they got there and ran up to the door. He knocked gently on the door, smiling when it swung open to reveal Jeff struggling with his tie.

"I'll fix it for you in the car, now get your parents and come on."

* * *

><p>Soon the entire group was on their way to Sebastian's house. Nick reached over Beatrice, who ducked, and started fixing Jeff's tie.<p>

"You really need to figure out how to tie this."

"I think I should just leave it tied so I can slip it on next time, the same thing I do with my tie for school."

Beatrice giggled softly, more than used to this argument.

Both boys looked at her then, and she immediately became weary of the smiles that spread across their faces. She tensed, then relaxed when they started tickling each other instead of her. Her parents rolled their eyes, but Jeff's parents didn't bother to hide their amusement. She knew her parents meant well, but they shouldn't have to hide their amusement around their own children and friends. Beatrice shook her head. Tonight was about getting Sebastian to see that he has friends, not about her odd parents. The boys soon stopped tickling each other and sat up, allowing her to sit up as well. She leaned into Nick, needing a bit of reassurance about the evening that they would be spending at a fancy dinner. Nick wrapped his arm around her shoulders, knowing exactly why she needed him by her.

* * *

><p>Sebastian...was hiding in his room. Not getting ready for the dinner, just hiding in his room, pacing in circles. Finally, there was a knock on the door.<p>

"Mister Sebastian, your guests from earlier today have arrived."

He practically threw open the door.

"Really? They're here?"

The butler looked confused.

"Yes. They just arrived."

"Thank you."

Sebastian hurried over to the steps, slowing down when he reached them. He slowly made his way down the steps, his eyes searching for Beatrice in the group of people. He soon found her, and his eyes widened.

Beatrice was wearing a dark blue dressed that ended at her ankles, and a pair of matching high-heeled shoes. Her hair was pulled up into a tight bun with a gold-colored ribbon. She was smiling when he saw her, but he noticed that she was currently clinging to Nick's arm in an attempt to remain upright.

He finally reached the ground floor, and he couldn't help smiling when Beatrice nudged her brother and the pair hurried towards him.

"Sebastian!"

Beatrice hugged him, clearly not caring for the idea of shaking hands with him, fancy party or not. She released him after a moment, so Nick pulled him into a hug.

"Just wait until you see how she survives these parties. Her purse is that size for a reason."

Nick pulled back and winked at him, leading Beatrice a few steps back so Jeff could greet Sebastian.

* * *

><p>Soon enough, the ground floor was crowded with people. Wes and David had arrived with their families maybe an hour after Beatrice, Nick, and Jeff had arrived. Beatrice had immediately attached herself to Wes, who was patiently leading her around the house while talking to David. Nick and Jeff stayed by Sebastian, talking to him about some of the strange things that Beatrice had done at various parties.<p>

"You know, the only reason those high-heeled shoes are still on her feet is because Wes hasn't given her permission to take them off."

"What?"

Jeff leaned over to whisper to Sebastian.

"Wes typically gets a lot of girls following him around at events like these. His family is extremely wealthy, and the girls think he's handsome. Beatrice helped him out of a tight spot at a party not too long after they met, and they've been pretending to be each others dates ever since. In reality, Beatrice is using him as a way to remain on her feet, and Wes is using her as a way to avoid the flocks of girls that he thinks are shallow."

Sebastian nodded in understanding.

"What was the tight spot at the party after they met?"

Nick grinned.

_Nick and Jeff were taking turns leading Beatrice around the room, all three of them incredibly bored. Yet another party with ridiculously uptight people being falsely kind to each other. Nick felt a tug on his arm. _

_"Isn't that Wes?"_

_He looked in the direction his sister was gesturing. Sure enough, Wes was creeping around the room, trying to avoid the girls that were following him. He looked rather desperate to escape, but Nick didn't know how to help him. Suddenly, he felt his sister's hand leave his arm. He watched as she made her way over to Wes, then looped her arm through his. Nick smiled as he realized what his sister was doing. Wes seemed to have come to the same conclusion, and was currently looking at Beatrice with an expression filled with gratitude. Nick grinned as Beatrice merely winked and started to talk to Wes, following him around the room..._

Sebastian laughed as he imagined the scene that Nick was describing to him. Jeff was doing the same thing, and Nick looked like he was trying to hide his laughter, but soon gave in. The three laughed so hard they cried.

"The...best part...was when..."

Nick dissolved into laughter again.

He eventually calmed down enough to blurt out his favorite part.

"The best part was when...since it was a costume party...Wes and Beatrice were chosen as the couple with the best pair of costumes. _And they hadn't even told each other what they would be wearing!_"

All three burst into laughter again, and Trent grinned as he reached them and heard the last sentence.

"Telling him about the costume party?"

All three boys nodded, trying to wipe the tears from their eyes. Trent grinned when he saw Wes, David, and Beatrice approaching. David looked at the group curiously.

"What did we miss?"

Trent chuckled.

"Nick was telling Sebastian about the costume party."

Wes and Beatrice looked at each other and shrugged.

"It made sense at the time."

David started laughing.

"Oh, yes, it made perfect sense. Especially when you had to explain to her father what was actually going on."

Wes looked slightly ill when David mentioned that.

"I will admit, that part was not fun."

Nick laughed while Beatrice hugged Wes.

"It was rather scary to watch actually. I wasn't sure what Dad was thinking, but he looked like he wanted pull me away from Wes, then figure out which body part he wanted to remove first..."

Nick turned to a rather pale Sebastian.

"Dude, our Dad is really nice. He wouldn't have done anything to Wes unless he was hurting her."

Sebastian relaxed.

Wes, who had been looking off across the room, untangled his arm from Beatrice's, then wrapped it around her waist.

"The vultures approach."

The group was just barely able to hear him, but they all understood. Sure enough, a group of five girls was approaching. The girl who appeared to be the leader of the group got extremely close to Wes, clearly not caring that she was making him uncomfortable.

"Wes..."

"Hello, ladies."

Wes gulped nervously as the girl got even closer.

"We were talking earlier, and we realized something."

"Really, what was it?"

Wes's grip around Beatrice's waist tightened. Beatrice realized that he knew he shouldn't have asked, but it was too late now.

The girl's smile turned into a leer.

"We realized that, in all of the time that you have been dating Becky, we've never seen you kiss her."

Nick was on his feet instantly.

"Her name is Beatrice."

The group of girls appeared to not care what her name was.

"We were wondering why you haven't kissed her, then we thought of something. Surely you would have kissed her by now if you were actually dating. Yet, we've never seen you on a date or holding hands except for at parties."

Wes was clearly starting to panic. Beatrice, however, remained calm.

"We haven't kissed yet because I do not want to have my first kiss yet. Wes respects me enough to wait."

The leader of the group of girls sneered.

"Wes deserves someone better, someone who can actually give him what he needs."

Beatrice blushed, wishing that she wasn't so easily embarrassed by talk of that sort.

"We're waiting, Wes."

He looked at them in confusion.

"Waiting for what?"

The lead girl grinned.

"If you don't kiss her in front of us, we will know that you aren't truly dating. And we won't leave you alone until you date one of us."

Beatrice went pale. Wes turned to look at her, and she looked straight into his eyes. Thankfully, everyone at the party knew that Wes was the same age as his friends, just smart enough to make his way out of high school earlier than them. He had shared a dorm room with David because they were the same age, even though Wes was in a higher grade. Beatrice had started school later than most kids her age, which everyone at the party also knew. The two friends stared into each others eyes and thought the situation through. Yes, it would be awkward. No, they didn't think of each other in _that way_. No, it wouldn't be illegal since they were of a proper age. So, the real question was, would it be worth it?

"We're waiting..."

All of their friends looked worried. Sebastian thought of something.

"If you ladies cannot leave my friends alone, I am going to have to ask you to leave."

They all turned to look at him. The group of girls looked like they were about to scream.

"I beg your pardon?"

Sebastian put a false smile on his face.

"If you cannot leave my friends alone so they may enjoy the evening, I will have you escorted from my house."

The leader of the group turned and stomped away, her friends hurrying after her. Wes and Beatrice turned to look at him.

"Thank you. Thank you so, so much."

Wes pulled him into a hug. Sebastian hesitantly returned it, looking rather stunned. Wes stepped back, and Beatrice took his place. As she clung to Sebastian, she whispered something so only he could hear it.

"Friend. True friend. Thank you."

Sebastian's eyes welled up with tears, and Beatrice knew that the party had been a success, if only because it had gotten the point across that Sebastian had friends now.

* * *

><p>After they had gotten Sebastian calmed down, the group of Warblers, along with Beatrice, was starting to consider going to eat some of the hors d'ourves that were offered, but right then a bell chimed and the announcement was made.<p>

"Dinner is served."

The group made their way into the dining room and sat down together, not wanting to be bored throughout the entire meal. Dinner didn't take nearly as long when they had each other for company, and soon it was time for the dessert to be brought out. The cook and the butler carefully brought the cake out, fully decorated and looking beautiful. White frosting covered each of the three tiers, green frosting shaped to look like vines and leaves stretched across each tier, as well as flowers made from frosting in either yellow or blue. Sebastian's father asked how the cook had managed such a splendid cake as well as so many appetizers in such a short time, and the cook decided to be honest.

"I had some help."

Sebastian's father looked stunned.

"Who on earth helped?"

"Your son and his friends."

Sebastian's father looked down the table to where Sebastian sat next to Beatrice.

"Sebastian, what friends?"

Sebastian gesture to the three who had helped as he gave their names.

"Nick and Jeff baked the cake while Beatrice designed what it would look like. All four of us frosted and decorated it."

The first piece of cake was cut and handed to Sebastian's father to try before it was given to the guests. He carefully took a bite, his eyes going wide at the taste. He turned to the cook and nodded.

"Cook, if you ever have a lot to do before a party ever again, please try to get my son and his friends to make the dessert. Your cooking and baking are delicious, but if there is ever a day when you don't have enough time, please try to get them to help."

Beatrice looked at Sebastian and grinned. He nudged her once everyone else had started eating.

"Thank you for thinking of that. I think that that may be the first time he has ever thought of me as useful."

Beatrice hugged him, but said nothing.

* * *

><p>The dinner was soon finished, so everyone made their way into the ballroom to dance and chat. Beatrice looked at Wes, who smiled and nodded. Beatrice grinned and grabbed her brother's hand pulling him out of the room. Sebastian walked over to Wes.<p>

"What was that about?"

"She can't dance in high-heels very well, so she went to change her into her ballet flats. They'll match her dress, but she'll be able to have some fun in them too."

Beatrice and Nick came back, Beatrice looking both relieved and excited. Wes grinned when they reached the group.

"Feel better?"

Beatrice smiled.

"Much better."

The boys laughed. Wes looked at Nick.

"Is it alright if I steal your sister for a few songs?"

"Go ahead, but I have to get at least one dance with her."

"Alright. Beatrice, would you care to dance with me?"

Beatrice grabbed Wes's outstretched hand and followed him onto the dance floor. Sebastian wasn't paying much attention to them until he heard a faster song start.

"Why aren't Beatrice and Wes back yet?"

Trent laughed.

"They both love this song, and they are both really good at dancing to it."

Trent pointed to the dance floor. Sebastian turned around and saw Wes and Beatrice moving together flawlessly, never bumping into anybody or tripping. He turned back to Trent.

"If Wes can dance like that, why did you guys always side-step!"

David had joined them by now. He laughed.

"Part of it was tradition. The other part was that Wes is typically only able to dance that well with Beatrice as his partner. His old girlfriend tried to dance with him once, and it didn't end well."

"What happened?"

"Wes was supposed to dip her and his hand slipped. He wound up nearly dropping her, he would have had she not grabbed him before she could fall."

Sebastian looked out across the dance floor again. Nick and Jeff were goofing off beside Thad, and Wes was twirling Beatrice. The fast song ended and a slow one began. David and Trent left to find their mothers. Nick, Jeff, Thad, and Wes did the same. Sebastian knew that he was expected to dance with his stepmother, but he was rather hoping that he could get out of it. Then, he felt a tug on his sleeve.

"Do you want to dance?"

He grinned down at Beatrice and held out his hand.

"Sure."

After the guests had all gone home several hours later, Sebastian said goodnight to his father and stepmother, then went up to his room. He stretched out on his bed and thought about the party until he finally fell asleep. His last thought before he closed his eyes was a happy one.

_I finally have friends. I finally have true friends._


	18. Chapter 18

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Author's Note: Alright, I've worked out a timeline for what year these guys are in. All of New Directions, plus David, Trent, Thad, Nick, Jeff, and Sebastian, are currently in the summer after their Junior year. Beatrice just finished her sophomore year. Wes just finished his first year of college, however, he is the same age as Nick, Jeff, etc. The reason that he just finished his first year of college while the others just finished their Junior year of high school is that he skipped two grades, his sophomore and junior years. In this story, he was made a council member his freshman year due to his maturity and musical skill. The Warblers, other than Nick and Jeff, met Beatrice their freshman year, which is the same year as when Beatrice was attacked by her boyfriend. Blaine transferred to Dalton at the end of that year. Wes becomes a senior the next year, which is the same year that Kurt spied on the Warblers. The beginning of this story was about halfway through the junior year of everybody except for Wes and Beatrice. If you have a question about this, please message me and I will try to explain. Thanks!

* * *

><p>Chapter 18<p>

Nick's parents left on yet another business trip two days after the party. Both Nick and Beatrice understood why their parents were gone so often, but sometimes it did sting a bit. They couldn't have been more grateful for having each other. However, sometimes there were things for Nick to do that required leaving Beatrice behind. One of the less annoying girls at the party had danced with Nick for a little while, and they had soon started talking to each other, eventually resulting in Nick working up the nerve to ask the girl to go out on a date with him. She had immediately agreed, so there Nick was, the day after his parents left, trying to get ready to go to the movies. Beatrice was watching him, highly entertained by the fact that half of his clothes were spread out on his bed. Nick himself was sprawled across them, face down.

"What am I going to do? I have to pick her up in half an hour!"

Beatrice, luckily, could understand her brother when his voice was muffled by his clothes.

"Wear your dark green t-shirt and dark blue jeans. You're going to the movies and lunch, then hanging out at the mall, right?"

A muffled sound that signaled agreement.

"So the shirt looks nice and the blue jeans look slightly dressy. Wear that outfit, then you'll be fine."

Nick rolled over and stretched one hand out towards Beatrice. She grabbed it and let him pull her to sit beside him.

"Thank you, Little Bit. I am so glad you're my sister."

She smiled at him.

"I'm glad you're my brother. Now, get dressed, I have to get ready for when Jeff comes to get me."

She left the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

* * *

><p>Jeff arrived a few minutes before Nick left, taking quite a bit of pressure off of Nick. Or so he had thought.<p>

"Dude, I'm sorry. Something came up at home, and I can't watch Beatrice."

Nick sank down onto a chair as Jeff left.

"I'm going to have to cancel the date. I have no choice."

He was reaching for his phone when his sister grabbed his hand.

"You aren't canceling the date. I'll just stay here. I can get some reading done, and there's food in the fridge."

"Are you sure?"

Beatrice smiled.

"Go."

Nick pulled her into a hug.

"Call me if you wind up going somewhere, or if someone comes over. Anything."

"I will. Love you."

"Love you too."

With one last hug, Nick was gone.

* * *

><p>Beatrice was fine for about an hour before she started to get nervous. She was clinging tightly to the house phone, and jumped at every sound. So, the doorbell ringing drew a less-than-pleasant reaction from her.<p>

_Ding-dong_

"AHHHHHH!"

Beatrice screamed as she hid behind the couch. She heard a key turn in the lock, then the door swing open. She tried not to make a sound.

"Beatrice? Are you alright? Where are you?"

Beatrice relaxed. Wes. Wes was here, she was safe now.

"Wes?"

She heard footsteps, then a familiar face peered around the edge of the couch.

"Hey, Beatrice. What are you doing back here?"

Beatrice blushed.

"I'm home alone, and I got nervous, so when the doorbell rang, it kind of freaked me out."

Wes tilted his head thoughtfully.

"That explains the scream?"

Beatrice nodded.

Wes held out his hand, then helped her to her feet. They sat down on the couch, Beatrice visibly relieved that she wasn't alone anymore. She leaned against Wes, taking comfort in knowing that she was safe now. She dialed Nick's number into the phone.

"_Beatrice? What's wrong, what happened?_"

"I'm fine. Wes is here."

She heard a sigh of relief.

"_Thank goodness. Alright, can you let me talk to him?_"

Beatrice handed the phone to Wes.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, it's Nick. I know that it's really short notice, but can you take care of Beatrice today? Something came up, so Jeff can't._"

"No problem. Is it alright if I take her shopping, maybe out to lunch?"

"_Sure. She'd probably appreciate getting out of the house. Thanks._"

"Of course. Do you want to talk to her?"

"_That'd be great. See you later._"

"See you."

Wes handed the phone over to Beatrice.

"Nick?"

"_Hey, Little Bit. Wes said that he's willing to stay with you. He might wind up taking you out to eat and shopping, alright?_"

"Alright. That sounds fun. Have fun, Nick."

"_Thanks, Little Bit. I will see you when I get home. Love you._"

"See you later. Love you too."

Beatrice ended the call. Wes smiled as she leaned into his side again. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Wes gently running his fingers through Beatrice's hair. Then, he spoke.

"Do you want to talk about what happened at the party?"

She nodded, not moving from her spot.

"I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for putting you in that awkward position, especially after what happened during your first relationship."

"It's not your fault. Who would have guessed that they would ever ask why we didn't kiss?"

Wes smiled slightly.

"Yeah."

Beatrice shifted so she could look at him.

"It's...weird."

Wes frowned.

"What is?"

"I...after the attack, when I was sitting in the hospital, I told myself that I would never date anyone ever again. I just can't see how it's worth the pain that seems to come with it."

Wes nodded.

"But then...I started getting better, and I saw how much Blaine and Kurt love each other. I'm...I'm starting to wonder if maybe it is worth it."

Wes was glad that she was healing. The damage done to her during the attack went far deeper than broken bones. The easy, trusting nature that she had had when he first met her had nearly vanished, leaving a very untrusting version of her behind. While she had trusted Nick and Jeff fairly quickly, it took others longer to make her see that they would not harm her. Her parents had taken a few months to get her to trust them again. The Warblers that she met before the attack, including Wes himself, had taken less time to earn her trust again, only because they could see her more frequently. Each of them had found a different way to break through to her. David had danced around, doing backflips and the like until she recognized him as her David. Trent had taken a different approach, simply sitting down in the same room as her and reading or talking softly with her. Wes himself had been somewhat more direct. He would wait until Beatrice was in Nick's lap, then rest his hand on Nick's shoulder. Eventually, as Beatrice became used to seeing him in contact with her brother, he changed to holding his hand out to her. She finally took his hand about two weeks after he had started trying to earn her trust, making him one of the first to gain it, only beaten by Nick and Jeff.

"What about their relationship makes you think that it would be worth the risk?"

Beatrice thought for a moment.

"Having somebody...somebody who is just..._there_. I mean, I know I have so many people who are there for me, but I'd like to have someone to kiss and hold hands with, someone to cuddle and not be looked at as though I'm weird for it. The connection where the person gets me so well that they could practically guess what I'm thinking. You know?"

Wes nodded.

"I know."

They sat in silence for several minutes, then Wes nudged Beatrice.

"Come on, let's go shopping."

Shopping with Wes was always an interesting experience. While she normally went clothes shopping with Nick and Jeff, who were fun, but efficient, shopping with Wes was more of a way to laugh at some of the outfits they came up with. The fact that another fancy party was coming up later in the summer meant that Wes helped Beatrice pick a dress for it, this time one that was a pastel pink. They stopped shopping after a few hours, deciding to get lunch before going back to Beatrice's house. They stopped at a small diner, each ordering the meal that they normally ordered when they went there. After the waitress brought out their food and they had each taken a few bites, Wes leaned back in his seat, studying Beatrice.

"Are you feeling okay?"

Beatrice nodded.

"Just thinking."

"About what?"

Beatrice sighed.

"Relationships."

"Anything about them in particular?"

"I think...I think that I might be ready to be in one again, if the right person came along."

Wes smiled at her.

"That's a good thing, isn't it?"

She looked up at him.

"I'm scared."

Wes moved his chair over so he could sit next to her.

"I can't say that I blame you. You do have obvious reasons to be scared, but not all guys are like your ex."

They continued eating in silence, each lost in thought.

The drive home was mostly silent, but it wasn't awkward. Wes and Beatrice had been able to remain comfortable with each other when it was silent for most of the time they had known each other, which was proven when Beatrice had sat with Wes in the weeks after he had broken up with his girlfriend. His girlfriend had been cheating on him, and he had found out during a party. Beatrice's incident had been the year before, and she seemed to feel the most comfortable with Wes, outside of Nick and Jeff. They had sat in silence for hours on end, letting Nick and Jeff hang out with the other Warblers without having to worry about Beatrice. Now, in the car on the way to Beatrice's house, Wes was focusing on driving while Beatrice thought about relationships some more, wondering whether she should tell Wes what she was thinking.

They got to Beatrice's house and unloaded the things that she had bought, carrying them up to her room before going back downstairs to sit in the living room. They sat next to each other on the couch, Wes deep in thought now that he wasn't driving.

'She's not that much younger than me, I mean, it wouldn't be illegal or anything if we dated. Though, Nick and Jeff would probably be angry if I did ask her out. Wait, what am I thinking, why would she even agree to go out with me anyways?'

While Wes was pondering these thoughts, Beatrice was going through thoughts that were rather similar.

'We're fairly close in age, and we could legally date each other. I don't want to lose his friendship though. I know that he would never hurt me, but I don't want to start a relationship with him, just to have it end badly and destroy our friendship. And that's if he would even go out with me, which I rather doubt...'

Beatrice glanced over at Wes, who appeared to be deep in thought.

'Well, I'll never know if I don't talk to him about it. And I won't get another chance to talk to him in private without making anybody suspicious.'

She scooted away from Wes slightly and cleared her throat.

"Wes?"

He looked over at her.

"Yeah?"

"I...I..."

"What is it? You can tell me anything you want to, I won't judge you."

Beatrice took a deep breath and licked her lips.

"I...you know how I've been thinking about relationships lately?"

Wes nodded.

"Well, I feel like I might be ready to be in a relationship, but it would have to be with someone who I could trust...someone who understands me and can handle my...issues."

Wes smiled at her.

"You'll find them."

Beatrice looked down.

"I...I think that I may have."

Wes felt his heart sink.

'Of course she found somebody. Why would she want someone like me?'

Wes hid these thoughts behind a smile.

"That's great, so what's the problem?"

Beatrice closed her eyes for a moment, trying to steady her nerves.

"It's...it's..."

She opened her eyes and found Wes staring at her.

"It's you!"

The words came out at a rather loud volume, startling both Wes and Beatrice.

"What?"

Wes was blinking rapidly, trying to work out how exactly he had heard those words.

Beatrice's eyes filled up with tears.

"It's you. I like...you."

Wes was speechless. Beatrice, receiving no response, sprang up from the couch and ran towards the stairs. Wes shook his momentary shock off and ran after her, catching up to her before she could close her bedroom door. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. She struggled, but he held on firmly, loosening his grip once she stopped.

"It's okay...I'm not mad. Can you look at me?"

He let go of her and she turned to look at him. He smiled.

"I'm...incredibly flattered that you feel that way, Beatrice. I'm really glad that you feel like you could trust me that much, but you also said that you only feel that you might be ready."

Beatrice nodded. Wes took a deep breath, wondering how the heck he was going to get his point across without upsetting her.

"I think you're amazing, and you're a great friend, but I don't want to risk our friendship for something you think you 'might' be ready for. I'm not quite ready for another relationship yet either, after all, my last girlfriend messed me up quite a bit. I know you would never do that, but the idea of being in a relationship is somewhat scary right now."

Beatrice hugged him.

"I don't want to pressure you into anything, and I don't want to hurt you, especially after what your first and only boyfriend did to you. So, my idea is this...we wait. We wait until we both feel ready for a relationship. We are allowed to go on dates with others until then, and if we find the right person and feel ready, we have no obligation to each other, alright?"

Beatrice nodded.

"Alright."

They walked back downstairs in silence. They ate supper before putting a movie in and sitting beside each other on the couch, Beatrice with her head on Wes's lap like normal. When Nick got home, Wes said goodbye to him, then turned to Beatrice. As she pulled him into a hug, he heard her whisper two words that made him smile.

"Thank you."

Wes nodded, then left. As he left, he couldn't help thinking about the events of that day.

* * *

><p>Wes got home, went up to his room, then pulled out his cell phone.<p>

He sent a text.

'_David, it's Wes. Can I come stay at your house tomorrow?_'

'_**Sure, man. What's up?**_'

Wes smiled. Of course David would pick up on his mood even when he was texting.

'_I need to talk to you about a private matter. I'd like to know what you think about it. Tell you when I get there?_'

'_**Alright, sounds good. See you tomorrow.**_'

'_See you._'

Wes sank onto his bed, feeling relieved that David would be willing to talk to him. He fell asleep, hoping that everything would work out for the best.


	19. Chapter 19

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Ch. 19

David woke up at 7am the next morning to the sound of a doorbell ringing and frantic knocking on the door. He dragged himself out of bed and down the stairs. He threw open the door, then stood on his front porch, looking rather ragged. His normally brushed hair was sticking up in all directions, and he appeared to still be in his pajamas. David had only seen him go anywhere looking like this one time, and that was the day after he had discovered his girlfriend was cheating on him.

"What did you do this time?"

"Can we please talk about this inside? I'm already embarrassed enough as it is."

David stepped aside, allowing Wes to enter. He closed the door, then turned around and frowned. Wes was sprawled across the floor, face-down.

'So this is exactly like last time. He gets upset, doesn't get enough sleep, gets here, then decides that the wood floor is a comfortable place to sleep.'

David shook his head, stepping around Wes's sleeping form.

'He'll talk when he's ready.'

* * *

><p>"David?"<p>

"In here."

Wes walked into the living room, looking slightly more functional then he had before. He sat down beside David, leaning his head against the back of the couch.

"I...I think that I might be ready to date again soon. And...I already have someone in mind."

"Who is it?"

Wes blushed.

"Beatrice."

Wes couldn't have been more grateful for David having an incredibly open mind. Most of his friends would have either teased him or yelled at him, but David was much nicer about such things.

"Did you tell her?"

"Shetoldmethatshelikesme."

David blinked.

"I beg your pardon?"

"She told me that she likes me. And I told her that I like her."

"So what is the problem?"

"We're not going out. We...we are going to wait until we both feel ready."

"Good plan. Just remember this, if you harm her, best friend or not, I have every right to go after you once Nick and Jeff are done with you."

Wes nodded his understanding.

"I don't know if I could forgive myself if I hurt her. That's why we are waiting."

The boys were silent for a moment, which was one of the many reasons why Wes liked being friends with David. He could take his time organizing his thoughts, and David would silently sit beside him until he was ready to talk.

"Do you think that we would be a good match?"

David looked over at him.

"Wes, I'm going to be honest with you."

Wes gulped nervously, causing both boys to chuckle. David continued.

"I've seen how you interact with her. I've been tempted on multiple occasions to film you dancing with her, just so you could see how well you respond to each other. The one time you danced with your ex-girlfriend, you nearly dropped her. With Beatrice, you never seem to second-guess what is going to happen next, you just flow into the next step without hesitation. She does the same with you. You are one of the few people capable of bringing her out of a flashback, and I don't think I could ever forget the time she wound up staying the night in our dorm room."

* * *

><p><em>Beatrice was terrified. She had gotten locked out of her brother's room, and neither he or Jeff were light sleepers. She had wandered down the hall, hoping to find a place to sleep in the choir room, when a door opened on her left. She looked over, and nearly cried in relief. <em>

_Wes was standing in the doorway, looking rather puzzled. _

_"Beatrice? Why are you wandering the halls so late?"_

_"I got locked out and Nick and Jeff fell asleep, and they won't wake up for much of anything."_

_Wes sighed, then stepped back._

_"__Come in, I'm sure David will be alright with you staying here tonight."_

_Beatrice scurried into the room and Wes shut the door behind her. David walked out of the bathroom in his pajamas, stopping when he saw Beatrice. _

_"Hey, Beatrice. What's going on?"_

_"I got locked out."_

_Wes slung one arm over her shoulders._

_"I told her she could stay here tonight, if it's alright with you?"_

_David nodded. The boys set up bedding on the couch, and eventually wound up staying in their own beds when Beatrice refused to let either of them take the couch. _

_Wes woke to the sound of crying, and immediately got out of bed. He crept over to the couch and laid a comforting hand on Beatrice's shoulder. No words were spoken, but Beatrice understood his gestures and followed him back to his bed, laying down and curling into his side. Both were asleep within seconds. _

_David woke up at 7am, and rolled over. He smiled at what he saw. _

_Beatrice was curled up on her side, facing him. Wes had his arms wrapped around her. Both were fast asleep and smiling, even though David could clearly see tear tracks on Beatrice's face._

* * *

><p>"To me, it seems like you guys belong together. You balance each other, you soothe each other's pain. I've seen both of you get upset, only to be calmed by the other lightly touching your hand. You move together flawlessly when you dance, you can spot each other in a crowd when the rest of us are ready to call and ask where you are. I look at the two of you, and start to understand the idea of 'two halves of a whole'."<p>

Wes felt like crying. He hadn't realized that he and Beatrice were that good for each other, only that she seemed to calm him when he was becoming stressed. David, as usual, knew what Wes was feeling. He pulled him into a hug, thinking that the sooner Wes and Beatrice started dating, the sooner they would be truly happy.


	20. Chapter 20

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Author's Note: Hello! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed/added to favorites/followed this story. I also wanted to tell you about a story a friend of mine is writing. The Adventures of Gregory House is by xXFamous13Xx, and if you like "House, M.D.", you should check it out. It will have some other shows involved as well. It's my friend's first story on here, so please go check it out!

Ch. 20

Two weeks had passed, and it was time for another fancy party, this time at Thad's mansion. Beatrice was nervous, unsure of what would happen when she saw Wes, and had begun to prepare an hour earlier than she normally would have. This mistake, of course, led Nick to realize that something was wrong. He tapped gently on her bedroom door, smiling when he was granted permission to enter. He slipped through the door, closing it behind him.

"Hey, Little Bit. Are you okay?"

Beatrice looked up at her brother, then patted the spot beside her on the bed. Nick's smile faded slightly as he obeyed, his concern increasing when his little sister nestled into his side and hid her face. He wrapped his arm around her, hoping that she would confide in him.

"I...please don't be mad at me."

Nick was stunned.

"Why would I be mad at you?"

No response. Nick sighed, using his right hand to gently lift his sister's chin so he could look into her eyes.

"Beatrice, what's going on?"

Beatrice took a shaky breath, reminding herself that it was her big brother, and that her big brother had never really become angry with her before.

"Do...do you remember...the day when you had that date? And Wes wound up watching me?"

Nick nodded, deciding to let his sister tell him what happened rather than giving himself a headache trying to figure it out.

"Well...I..."

Nick rubbed her back in an effort to calm her. Beatrice took a deep breath, exhaled, then...

"IhaveacrushonWes,andItoldhimaboutit,butwearen'tdating!"

Nick gaped at her.

"You know, I think that this may be the first time that I have no idea what you said."

Beatrice smiled shakily.

"I...have a crush on Wes..."

Nick smiled encouragingly.

"I told him that I do."

"Alright..."

"We decided not to date until we are both ready."

"Wait, what?!"

Beatrice dove under her bed. Nick took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He slid to the floor and lifted the blanket, peering into the dark where his sister was hiding.

"Little Bit, I'm not mad, just...really surprised."

Beatrice stretched her hand out to him, and he took it, crawling under the bed to join her. They were silent for a few minutes, just thinking. Beatrice finally spoke up.

"Would it bother you?"

"Would what bother me?"

"If I dated Wes?"

Nick nudged her.

"Beatrice, I'm always going to be your overprotective older brother. It wouldn't matter who you were dating, they'd all get some sort of talk warning them that if they hurt you in any way, they'll regret it for the rest of their life. It's kinda my job."

Beatrice giggled. Nick smiled at her, then continued.

"I gave your...ex, the same talk. He wound up in jail. I have become more protective of you because of that incident, but I also know what kind of person Wes is. Wes wouldn't harm you intentionally, and if he ever upset you in any way, he would probably tell me himself so I could yell at him. He's a good guy. But, there is one thing..."

Beatrice tilted her head to one side.

"Don't start dating until you feel ready. If he feels ready, and you don't, don't start dating. I know you wouldn't start dating him if he wasn't ready, but make sure you are both comfortable first."

Beatrice hugged her brother to the best of her ability, then followed him out from under her bed. He smiled at her.

"Now, get dressed and I'll help with your hair when you're done."

Beatrice skipped over to her closet, grabbed a dress, then scurried into her bathroom, closing the door behind her.

* * *

><p>When Beatrice emerged from her bathroom 15 minutes later, Nick was stunned. His little sister was in a pastel pink dress, one he knew his parents couldn't possibly have picked out.<p>

"Where did you get that one?"

"Wes helped me pick it out..."

Beatrice's cheeks turned a light shade of pink.

"You look beautiful. Now, come here so I can do something about your hair."

Nick swiftly braided her hair in several sections, then went to get ready himself while her hair dried. He was grateful that he didn't have to get a new suit for each party, just needing to change which tie he wore. He showered and dressed quickly, then went to retrieve Beatrice. He smiled when he realized that her dress had silver embroidery, then grinned when he noticed the silver high heels on her feet.

"Ready?"

Beatrice gave him a genuine smile as she grabbed her purse.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

The siblings went downstairs and led the way out to the limo. They soon picked up Jeff's family, with a rather excited Jeff bouncing in his seat the moment he sat down. Nick looked over at him.

"What's going on with you?"

Jeff grinned and shook his head. Beatrice was studying him.

"It isn't caffeine...or sugar..."

Jeff's grin grew wider. Beatrice's eyes widened in realization. She quickly turned to her brother and whispered the reason.

"He's doing it on purpose."

Nick chuckled.

"Why?"

His sister shook her head, and murmured, "I'm not sure..."

Upon arriving at the party, the three teens stayed in the limo for a few minutes, Nick swiftly undoing the braids in Beatrice's hair. Her hair was now wavy, so Nick pulled the majority of it into a single braid, leaving a small section hanging down on the right side of her face. He knew that she would be frequently messing with that section of hair, even though it looked nice. He smiled as she immediately started trying to push her hair out of her face.

"Come on, let's go see Thad."

* * *

><p>Parties at Thad's house were always somewhat more...formal, than those hosted by the families of the other Warblers. They required more formal dress, and both Nick and Beatrice had learned long ago to carry themselves differently when attending one. Jeff was usually able to get away with being more relaxed, but only because his family was well liked for their easy-going nature and friendly attitude. The trio of teenagers made their way to the door, where Nick knocked softly. The door was opened by the butler, who immediately granted them entrance. Beatrice looped her hand through Nick's arm, walking beside him until she could find Wes. They found both Wes and David near the refreshments, looking politely interested in their surroundings. At least, that's what Nick supposed they looked like to most of the guests. He, on the other hand, knew better.<p>

Beatrice gave Wes a questioning look, smiling when he held out his arm to her. She hugged Nick, then attached herself to Wes. As they walked away, David walking beside them, Nick looked over at Jeff.

"So, we find a quieter area and hope we don't get incredibly bored?"

His voice was little more than a whisper. Jeff grinned.

"Sounds about right. If we get too bored, I'll find a way to liven up the party."

Nick laughed, feeling much better about the party than he had previously. The boys found seats along one wall, sinking into them gratefully. They sat chatting and laughing for a couple of hours before they noticed Wes, David, and Beatrice hurriedly making their way over to them. Both Nick and Jeff lost their smiles as they saw the crowd of annoying girls following the group again. They stood up, prepared to back up their friends if the need arose.

"So, you're wandering around with the loser. Again."

Nick had to take several deep breaths in order to keep himself from shouting. Wes looked nervous.

"Seeing as we're dating..."

"Oh, don't give me that crap! You've never even kissed, you can't fool me. Either you kiss her, or I expose you for the liar you are."

Silence. Beatrice glancing at Wes, who was staring at her. What could they do? If they kissed, it could be seen by one of them as breaking their promise, but if they didn't, Wes would be declared a liar in front of the well-to-do families at the party. Wes was about to just admit that they weren't dating, when Jeff stepped forward, taking Beatrice's free hand in his.

"They aren't dating. Beatrice and I are."

Several necks made a cracking sound as heads turned towards him in shock. Jeff took no notice.

"We've...been dating for a while now, but we didn't want to cause a scandal by letting everyone see, so we worked out a plan where Wes and Beatrice would pretend to date. I trust Wes, so when the issue first came up, I turned to him for advice. With how well he and Beatrice get along, it wasn't difficult to fool most people. I guess you were just too smart for us."

The group of girls looked vaguely disappointed. Then, one of them spoke up.

"Kiss."

"What?"

"Kiss her. If you are actually dating, it shouldn't be a problem for you to kiss her."

Jeff turned to Beatrice. They stared into each others' eyes, years of practice becoming useful as they communicated silently, Jeff asking if Beatrice was alright with this, and Beatrice granting permission, if only to stop the girls from irritating the group. This bit of gossip would distract the girls for a while, quite possibly for the rest of the evening. Yes, it would be Beatrice's first kiss. Yes, she had wanted to save that particular event for when she got a boyfriend that she loved, one that truly loved her in return, but if she had to give her first kiss to one she wasn't dating, she was glad it was Jeff. Jeff understood her, could read her like an open book. She could read Jeff in the same way, but neither of them were interested in the other in a romantic way. It was the type of friendship that had been perfected over the years, the type of understanding that only seems to happen when you are so close to a person, you can guess their thoughts. They were on a similar wavelength. Jeff leaned in slowly, keeping her gaze locked on him, giving her the opportunity to back out if she wanted to. Beatrice finally let her eyes fall shut, Jeff's cool hand on her cheek providing reassurance and soothing her nerves. She felt Jeff's lips meet hers...

Nothing. No spark, no shiver down her spine. She remained able to focus her thoughts on the sounds around her, and how kissing felt. Warm, she decided, and slightly moist. She felt Jeff's tongue nudge her lips, so she opened her mouth to allow entrance. Now, that sensation was a bit bizarre. Jeff's breath tasted like chocolate, with just a hint of peppermint, causing Beatrice to want to smile. She knew that Jeff must have brushed his teeth and used mouthwash before the party, then ate some dark chocolate recently. They drew out the kiss for a few more seconds before pulling away from each other, though Jeff's arm was now around her waist, in the same place Wes's arm was earlier that evening. The group of girls gaped at the pair for a moment before turning and walking away. Jeff looked over at Wes, mouthing a silent apology. Wes nodded and gave him a small smile in return. Wes and David had mentioned Wes's crush to Jeff earlier that week, begging him to stay silent on the matter until Nick brought it up. David, wanting to relieve the slight bit of tension, spoke up.

"Well, that was a bit awkward."

As Beatrice giggled, the others rolled their eyes, and Wes elbowed David. The group stayed together for the rest of the party, not wanting to deal with the gossip their scene had caused.


	21. Chapter 21

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Ch. 21

Nick was busy the next day, trying to prepare for Beatrice's birthday. It was only two weeks away, and this knowledge had Nick hugging his sister early in the morning before allowing Jeff to run off with her. Jeff took Beatrice back to his house, hoping that she would mention how she felt towards Wes so they could talk about it. They sat in Jeff's living room, and it didn't take very long for Beatrice to blurt out that she liked Wes. She was relieved to hear that Wes had talked to Jeff already, especially since she wanted Jeff's approval on the matter, even though she already had her brother's. Jeff sent her off to the bathroom to put on her bathing suit, hurrying up the stairs to his bedroom so he could change as well.

Jeff had a large pool in his house, and he had taught Beatrice how to swim when she was little. The walls and ceiling were mostly glass, allowing the sun to light the room. You could look out towards the forest, or lie on your back looking at the blue sky. They each grabbed an inner tube on their way to the pool, agreeing that it had been ages since they'd had one of their relaxing days. The inner tubes were placed beside the pool, music was turned on, then the pair dove in, allowing the water to wash away their fears. They were both at peace in the water, one song playing on repeat as they moved through the water, only coming to the surface for air before going under again. No words needed to be spoken here, and they refrained from splashing each other. Such things could wait for when they were with their other friends. This, was their time. Here, allowing the water to caress their skin, letting the song tug at them, calling them into a relaxed state.

After the song had played four or five times, the two friends swam to the center of the pool, swimming around each other slowly. Jeff swam to the bottom of the pool before swimming in close circles around Beatrice, though she remained calm. It was yet another thing that had been used to make her trust him after the attack, and Jeff was the only guy(besides Nick) that knew how relaxed she could become when in the right surroundings. Wes had never gotten the chance to see her in her favorite setting, when there were only one or two people in the water with her. The other Warblers hadn't either, and Jeff felt bad for them. How free Beatrice became when in a swimming pool with only a few people was quite the sight, especially when one considered how rarely it happened. Jeff loved being one of the few people fortunate enough to witness Beatrice being truly relaxed.

An hour later, they had both become hungry, so they got out of the pool. Jeff allowed Beatrice to shower and dress first, then did the same. They slowly made their way down the stairs, feeling completely relaxed. They made sandwiches, then sat down on stools at the counter, slowly eating their lunch. Jeff noticed that Beatrice was starting to drift off, so he cleared up their dishes, then picked her up. During the short walk into the living room, she fell asleep in his arms. He set her down on the couch, then laid down, pulling her until her head was resting on his shoulder. He tugged the blanket off of the back of the couch, covering himself and Beatrice with it. He then drifted off to sleep, happy that he could have these quiet moments with the one girl that he would always count as his little sister.

* * *

><p>Jeff awoke to someone knocking on the front door. He carefully got up, leaving Beatrice lying on the couch. He pulled it open and realized it was dark out, and Nick was standing on the front porch.<p>

"Sorry, we fell asleep."

Nick smiled at this.

"Swimming?"

"Yeah. I figured that she could use some relaxation time."

Jeff stepped to the side, allowing Nick to enter the house.

"Parents gone?"

Jeff made a face.

"Yeah. Apparently something unavoidable came up last night. They had to leave early this morning."

"Do you want to come stay with us?"

Jeff shook his head.

"I was thinking that you guys should stay here, seeing as Beatrice isn't waking up for a while. You want to?"

Nick grinned.

"Fine with me. Is it okay if I get some pool time with her?"

Jeff smiled.

"Heck yes. I wouldn't stop you from doing that if she wants to too."

Nick settled into an armchair as Jeff curled up on the couch with Beatrice. Both boys soon fell asleep, glad that the girl had gotten the chance to truly relax.

* * *

><p>Beatrice awoke to the smell of pancakes, eggs, and burnt toast. She smiled. Jeff could cook just about anything, but he always wound up burning toast. She sat up slowly, wanting to hold onto the peaceful feeling for as long as possible. She twisted around trying to see what time it was, then grinned. She got up quietly, her feet making the floor creak as she went towards her brother. She shifted his blanket to one side, then climbed up on his lap, covering both of them with the blanket. She waited patiently, then... Arms wrapped around her. A smile spread across his face. Brown eyes slowly blinked open. He grinned at her, and she returned it with a smile of her own.<p>

"Hey, Little Bit."

His voice was slightly scratchy, his words slow, and she could tell he was slightly drowsy. She hugged him, taking comfort in the familiar scent that lingered on his clothes.

"Jeff is making breakfast."

Nick rubbed his eyes with one hand as his other arm wrapped around his sister.

"Did he burn the toast again?"

Beatrice giggled.

"Yep."

Nick nudged her.

"Let's go help then. Unless you particularly want burnt toast?"

Beatrice ran for the kitchen, leaving Nick to burst out laughing.

* * *

><p>By the time Nick got up and wandered into the kitchen, breakfast was nearly ready. Beatrice was keeping an eye on the toaster, making sure it didn't burn, while Jeff was flipping pancakes. Nick quickly set the table, and the breakfast was ready soon after.<p>

They ate slowly, savoring the relaxed atmosphere that seemed to always fill Jeff's home. Nick washed the dishes after breakfast, and Beatrice dried them. Nick grabbed his spare bathing suit from Jeff's room while Beatrice sat in the living room with Jeff, relaxing into his side while she still could. They waited for a while, letting their food digest before they went swimming. Beatrice used the time to become more awake, while Jeff and Nick chatted softly, Nick running his fingers through Beatrice's hair. An hour later, Nick nudged his sister.

"Go put your suit on."

As she ran to get ready, Nick looked at Jeff.

"Are you swimming with us?"

"I don't want to cut into your time with her..."

Nick interrupted him.

"Nonsense. It's your house, your pool, and she will be relaxed even if both of us are there. I know you like seeing how calm she gets, and you did introduce her to this form of relaxation."

Jeff smiled.

"I still love being the person who taught her how to swim."

Nick laughed.

"You are definitely swimming with us."

* * *

><p>Soon, all three were on the diving board.<p>

"One...two...three."

Beatrice counted off, and they all dove at the same time. Jeff had set up the same music from before, and he could see how much more relaxed Beatrice became here, even when she hadn't been stressed. Nick, in turn, became calmer, more confident. He allowed Beatrice to move away from him, trusting her to do what she needed to do. As the three moved through the water, Beatrice moved back and forth between swimming beside Jeff and swimming beside Nick. The two boys eventually got out of the pool and sat on the side, letting their feet dangle in the water as they watched Beatrice glide smoothly through the pool. She stayed in the water for a few hours, enjoying the way it felt on her skin. Nick and Jeff joined her later on, but all three eventually got out and dried off before heading for separate bathrooms, looking forward to warm showers.


	22. Chapter 22

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now (very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large).

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story

Ch.22

Nick spent the next week preparing for Beatrice's birthday. He wanted it to be special for her, especially since it would be the last one that he would be able to plan before heading off to college. Beatrice was staying in her room for the most part, content to just relax for a bit, thinking things through. While Nick fussed over decorations, guest lists, and food, Beatrice was thinking about Wes.

_She was in eighth grade when she met Wes. She had a boyfriend who seemed nice enough, except that he always wanted her to spend more time with him, even though she trailed after him during every school day. She was still getting good grades, and she tried to spend time with her brother whenever she could. Her parents had to work one day, and she wasn't comfortable with the idea of staying home alone, so her mother took her to Nick's school. After getting huge hugs from her brother and Jeff, she was led to the council's table, where she looked around nervously as her mother talked to one of the guys there. She was told to sit behind the table and did so, happy to listen to the singing of the Warblers. She couldn't see their dancing, but she was alright with simply listening. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, and was starting to nod off when the council took their seats and began to talk about their most recent run through. Two of the boys had finished speaking, and the third one was about to, when she finally drifted off, falling to one side as she did so. Her head met something somewhat firm, covered in material, and she opened her eyes a tiny bit to see what had happened. She saw the leg of one of the council members, took a breath, and felt herself relax. His scent wasn't one that she recognized, but something about it was soothing, and she felt like she could trust the guy for some inexplicable reason. She closed her eyes and went back to sleep, not waking up again until the practice was over._

* * *

><p>Beatrice smiled, remembering how freaked out Nick had been afterwards.<p>

_"I can't believe that you fell asleep on him!" _

_"Nick, I really didn't mean to, I was just so tired after last night that I dozed off. He really doesn't seem all that mean though..." _

_Her brother stopped in front of her, preventing her from going any further down the hallway. _

_"Little bit, he's NEVER been that nice to us before. He scares most of the group, and I'm surprised that he was chosen for the council. Most of us are convinced it's because he is a bit of a musical genius, and the council couldn't pass up that opportunity." _

_Beatrice rolled her eyes. _

_"Maybe he was just being nice in front of guests then?" _

_Nick shook his head. _

_"You did something to him, I just know it..."_

Nick had been right, even if Beatrice hadn't realized it at the time. She chuckled, remembering that first dinner that she had seen Wes at.

'Poor Wes, Dad looked like he was going to tear him apart if he so much as squeezed my hand.'

After that though...the attack had happened.

* * *

><p>It had taken until the weeks after Beatrice's attack for her to really notice the strange connection that she seemed to have developed with Wes.<p>

_All of the Warblers were worried about Beatrice, even the head of the council. She had been coming to meetings frequently after her attack, needing the supervision of her brother and his best friend since her parents were away on business. With Crawford Country Day being so close to Dalton, Nick would frequently (daily) drive over to get his sister and bring her to rehearsals. Thankfully, all of the Warblers were patient and understanding, never touching her or walking quickly towards her. _

_One day, about three weeks after her attack (two after she had been released from the hospital), Wes managed the seemingly impossible. _

_He had been trying for the entire two weeks after she had been released to regain her trust, taking a more patient approach than the others; even though it was a more direct approach. Nick had calmly let Wes rest his hand on his shoulder while talking to him, just so Beatrice would see that Wes was a safe person, one who could be trusted. As Beatrice became used to seeing Wes near Nick, near her, she relaxed when he came over, not particularly worried about him possibly harming her. _

_Wes finally reached his hand out to her after two weeks of doing either this, or touching Nick's shoulder, and got a response. He reached out to her, and after a moment of hesitation, Beatrice put her hand in his. Wes didn't move, letting her decide how close to get to him, and he didn't regret waiting. Beatrice carefully slid off of her brother's lap, standing in front of Wes, still holding Wes's hand. Then, she stepped forward and hugged him._

_The warmth that she found in Wes's arms was reassuring, and his scent calmed her. As she felt his arms wrap around her carefully, Beatrice smiled genuinely; the first time that she had done so around people who weren't Nick and Jeff after the incident. Nick, seeing her smile, looked up at Wes and grinned. Wes, grinning himself, carefully ran his fingers down her back in a motion that only he, Nick, and Jeff could get away with. Jeff, David, and Trent looked over when she hummed in response to Wes's fingers; all of the boys in the room grinned when they saw her relax into Wes, letting herself go limp._

* * *

><p>'What happened after that?'<p>

Beatrice frowned, trying to work out the next major event in her friendship with Wes.

'Blaine's house? No... Wait. Yeah, it was that day.'

_After she had helped Blaine with his bruise cream, Beatrice had sat down on Nick's lap, smiling when Wes let her use his shoulder as a pillow. Blaine had given the pair a rather strange look. _

_"Are you two...together?" _

_Beatrice smiled as she felt Wes's laugh move his body. _

_"No, we aren't dating. We've just got a bit of an...understanding." _

_Beatrice spoke up. _

_"He was one of the first people that I learned to trust again after I was attacked." _

_"Attacked?!" _

_Blaine's eyes were wide. Beatrice felt her brother tense under her, then allowed his firm hands to move her onto Wes's lap. Nick stood. _

_"Wes, would you mind keeping an eye on her for a bit? Just in case?" _

_Wes nodded, and Beatrice turned to face him so she wouldn't have to see Blaine's reaction. _

_"Blaine, Beatrice was...attacked." _

_Wes caught Beatrice's eyes, holding her gaze to keep her distracted. _

_"By her, now ex, boyfriend. The jerk ambushed her with some of his friends, and Jeff and I were the ones who found her afterwards." _

_"But...she seems okay?" _

_"She still gets flashbacks, bad ones. But she is somewhat on the mend. She's started to trust people again, just look at how she's responding to Wes." _

_Blaine turned to look at the group on the couch, David sitting beside Wes, Wes with Beatrice on his lap. Wes was talking softly, whispering to Beatrice about song ideas he had for the Warblers; Beatrice was listening attentively, murmuring suggestions every so often. Blaine watched as Wes's hands traced a strange pattern on Beatrice's back, and he wondered about it. Nick saw his confusion and whispered, _

_"She's still got some bruises. Deep ones." _

_"How does he know where they are?" _

_"Beatrice trusts him. I was putting bruise cream on her for quite a while, and the day that Jeff couldn't come to calm her while I did, Wes volunteered. Beatrice didn't let go of his hand the entire time, and Wes remembered where the worst bruises were." _

_Jeff joined them, along with the other boys. Nick's eyes softened as he watched his sister respond to Wes, then he looked back at Blaine. _

_"I..." _

_Blaine's cell phone went off just as Nick began to speak. Blaine put it on speakerphone, figuring that it would be his brother, dad, or mom. It was his brother. _

_"Hey, Blaine! How're you doing?" _

_Beatrice, whose ex-boyfriend had a very similar voice, was set off. Wes, having seen Beatrice go into numerous flashbacks, reacted immediately. He held her firmly in his lap, whispering whatever words seemed appropriate. _

_"Safe, warm, calm, hope, loved, safe..." _

_He breathed the words directly in front of her, his scent rushing across her face. Her eyes eventually gained just enough focus that they locked on to Wes's, and he stopped talking. Wes simply held her gaze and breathed across her face; soon Beatrice registered that he wasn't harmful, that he was one of the safest people to be near. The flashback ended, and Beatrice buried her face in the crook of Wes's shoulder, giving in to silent tears. Nick carefully sank onto the couch beside them, holding his arms out for his sister. Wes shifted so Beatrice would look up, so she did. Upon seeing her brother, she reached out and took his hand, clutching to it with one hand as her other hand gripped the front of Wes's shirt. The entire group was stunned. Beatrice had never reacted positively to any of the boys, excepting Nick and Jeff, when they tried to calm her after a flashback. Blaine finished talking to his brother and ended the call, then looked over at Beatrice. _

_"Are you alright?" _

_Both Wes and Nick winced as Beatrice tightened her grip on them, digging her nails into their skin. Wes ran his hands over Beatrice's back, never bumping a bruise. Her grip on her brother's hand loosened, but she pulled it towards her face. Nick, understanding what she needed, let her control where his hand went. The other boys, including Jeff, had no idea what she was doing. Beatrice brought her brother's hand up to her face, and Nick softly brushed her tears away before moving up to her hair. _

_"Soft, the eyes of all you may trust..." _

_Nick's voice filled the room, captivating the entire group. _

_"Softer still, the touch of a friend..." _

_Beatrice swallowed before beginning to sing. _

_"Gentle voices call out, break through the dark..." _

_Wes's hands stilled on her back. _

_"The scents that are breathed in, can change a whole life..." _

_More tears streamed down her face, only to be wiped away by her brother's hand._

* * *

><p>A soft knock came at the door of Beatrice's bedroom. Her brother peeked in and saw his sister staring off into space. But, unlike the times when she relived her attack, she was smiling. He slipped into the room, closing the door behind him. Beatrice looked over as Nick sat beside her.<p>

"Hey, Beatrice."

"Hi, Nick."

"I haven't seen you do this since before your ex came into the picture. What are you thinking about?"

Beatrice's grin was identical to her brother's usual one.

"Wes."

The two siblings leaned against each other, content to sit in silence. Nick couldn't stop one thought from floating through his mind.

'I guess Wes really is good for her.'


	23. Chapter 23

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now (very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large).

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story

Ch. 23

Beatrice woke up to the feeling of her hair being braided while someone held her hand. The hand holding hers fit differently from most of the others that she had held; and a breath in through her nose confirmed that it was her brother's hand. The only other person allowed to see her early on her birthday was Jeff, so he had to be the one braiding her hair. Beatrice yawned, pulling her brother's hand closer to her without opening her eyes. Jeff tied off the braid with a hairband before joining the siblings on the bed. The trio was silent for a while, but Beatrice eventually had to ask her usual birthday morning question.

"Are they coming?"

She felt the bed shift as her brother scooted closer and enveloped her in his arms.

"You'll be a lot happier with the people I've invited anyways."

"You and Jeff are going to be there, right?"

Simultaneous kisses were planted on her cheeks.

"Of course we are. I don't appreciate having been woken up at 4:30 this morning by your brother having a meltdown over forgetting to buy candles, but yes, I will be there."

Beatrice finally opened her eyes, and was met with the, rather amusing, sight of her brother's dark red face.

"Nick, you could've skipped planning a party altogether, I just want to spend time with you and Jeff."

Her brother leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"I know, Little bit. I just like giving you birthdays that are memorable."

The group was silent again, just relaxing before the day started. Jeff snorted after a few minutes, causing the siblings to look at him.

"The year of the magical cake."

As Nick groaned, Beatrice started giggling.

"That made the top ten most memorable, no doubt about it."

Nick buried his face in the pillow.

"I'm surprised Wes still comes here after that...I've yet to figure out what I did wrong."

Beatrice watched Jeff stand and move towards the door.

"Actually, Nick, you didn't do anything..."

Nick's head snapped up.

"What?"

Jeff was standing just outside of Nick's room now.

"You see, the firecracker was supposed to go off BEFORE the cake got out to the guests, but I lit it too late and..."

As Jeff took off, Nick leapt over Beatrice and hit the ground running. Beatrice laid there for a moment, then got up to get ready for the party.

* * *

><p>Nick and Beatrice's house had three events each year that were treated as very big deals; Nick's birthday, Beatrice's birthday, and Christmas. Those who came to their home in December were treated to spectacular decorations, music, and plenty of food. Nick's birthday brought dark green decorations, while Beatrice's brought decorations in silver. With their parents frequently away on business, it was up to the siblings to decorate if they wanted the house decorated; and Nick had been climbing ladders and setting up decorations at the age of eight, which was when he had decided that the lazy maid could look after his sister while he decorated the house properly for Christmas. He had thought that the maid would actually do her job, but he soon found out otherwise when he looked down from the top of a ladder and saw his sister untangling the Christmas lights. The next surprise came on Nick's birthday the next October, when he went downstairs and found the dining room and living room draped in dark green decorations, and his sister emerged from the kitchen carrying a bowl of cake batter. The siblings had gotten better at throwing parties as they grew older, and this particular year was no exception.<p>

* * *

><p>Beatrice walked down the stairs to see her brother and Jeff making an incredibly large amount of food for breakfast.<p>

'The sad thing is', thought Beatrice, 'it'll all be gone after we eat.'

Starting when Beatrice was in eighth grade, the Warblers had started making appearances at parties. All of them had shown up for Nick's birthday, and many had shown up in December; though that particular December was somewhat subdued after Beatrice had been attacked and didn't quite trust all of the group again. When her birthday had rolled around, Wes, David, Trent, Thad, Blaine, and Jeff were the only Warblers (besides Nick) that came.

Nick and Jeff looked up as Beatrice walked into the room. Jeff held back, shutting off the stove and unplugging the toaster, allowing Nick to approach his sister first.

"Happy Birthday Beatrice, my Little bit!"

Beatrice was pulled into a bear hug, which she returned with equal enthusiasm.

"Thanks, Nick!"

Her brother released her, and she was pulled into Jeff's arms.

"Happy Birthday Beatrice!"

"Thanks, Jeff!"

The pair stepped back from each other when they heard the radio come on. Nick held out his hand to his little sister, who took it immediately and let him twirl her around the room. At the end of the song, Jeff pulled Beatrice over to him and started showing off some of his more impressive dance moves; Beatrice managing to just barely keep up with him due to years of practicing with him. The doorbell rang after the trio had danced to three songs, each one (excluding the first) involving Beatrice getting passed back and forth between the two boys. The boys had covered the food to keep it warm, and when Beatrice started running to get the door, Nick cried out "After her!".

Jeff scooped Beatrice up into his arms and started spinning in circles while Nick answered the door. He returned with one of the party guests shortly after that.

"Hey, guys; hi, Bea...What the heck is Jeff doing?!"

Jeff was still spinning in circles with Beatrice, who looked rather resigned. David, who had asked the question, turned to Nick.

"We had to stop her from answering the door somehow."

Beatrice waved to David on her next trip around the circle, and he waved back. The doorbell rang again, so Nick ran off to answer it. Kurt and Blaine stood in the doorway, Blaine looking somewhat rumpled in shorts and a t-shirt with sandals on his feet while Kurt was in designer jeans, a nice short sleeve shirt, and (for some reason that Nick didn't want to try figuring out) boots. Nick turned to Blaine.

"You told him how laid back today will be, right?"

Blaine sighed as Kurt rolled his eyes.

"I even mentioned that I'd heard tales of an exploding cake."

Kurt's eyes widened at this.

"I thought you were joking."

Nick smiled as Wes came up to the door.

"Kurt, I was there when the cake blew up. It's not a joke. Hey, Nick. How's the birthday girl holding up?"

"Come on in you guys. Beatrice was being spun in circles the last time I saw her."

Kurt looked confused when his boyfriend and Wes started laughing.

"Jeff got to her before she could answer the door?"

Nick grinned back at Wes.

"Yep. She actually made it to the dining room this time."

Nick led the boys into the dining room, then had to leave again when the doorbell rang. Jeff stopped spinning in circles when he saw Wes, and he carefully set Beatrice down. Wes, thankfully, had quick reflexes; he caught her before she could topple over from how dizzy she was. Kurt and Blaine started talking to David and Jeff while Wes wrapped one arm around Beatrice's waist, preventing her from falling down.

"You tried getting the door again, didn't you."

"I made it farther than usual this time."

Wes chuckled.

"Happy Birthday Beatrice."

"Thanks, Wes."

She hugged Wes, then stepped back. Wes removed his arm from around her waist when she was no longer dizzy. Kurt and Blaine came over to talk to Beatrice, who gaped at Kurt's choice in footwear for that particular day. Nick returned with Trent, Thad, and Sebastian while Beatrice was gaping.

"Something wrong, Little bit?"

She lifted her gaze to Kurt's face.

"Aren't your legs and feet sweating?"

When Kurt shook his head, Beatrice shrugged.

"Alright."

She gave Blaine and Kurt quick hugs before hurrying over to the most recently arrived guests.

* * *

><p>Breakfast was...hectic. Putting nine hungry teenage boys and one hungry teenage girl into the same room seemed, according to several of the boys' parents, more like a recipe for disaster than a party; yet it always seemed to work out at Nick and Beatrice's house. Kurt, who had expected Beatrice to eat less than him given her small waist, was stunned when Beatrice ate nearly as much as Jeff. Blaine, noticing Kurt's shock, chuckled.<p>

"She gets a lot of exercise, normally with Jeff and Nick. She'll burn off quite a few of those calories before lunch."

"How?"

All of the food had been eaten by this point. Beatrice sprang to her feet, grabbed her dishes, and took off running. Jeff and Nick decided to let her go since they had both eaten a lot. As Beatrice ran back and forth, collecting one set of dishes at a time, Kurt turned to Blaine.

"I think I get how she does it now."

Jeff grinned at them from across the table.

"You haven't seen anything yet."

Beatrice came in, grabbed the last set of dishes (Sebastian's), and ran back to the kitchen. The boys heard a radio being tuned, then an oldies song started to play. Nick got up at this point.

"Come on Kurt, Sebastian, you might want to see this."

The two boys followed Nick into the kitchen and saw Beatrice dancing as she did the dishes, occasionally stopping to spin in a circle before going back to the dishes. Jeff brushed past them on his way over to the sink; he grabbed a towel and started drying the dishes, dancing with Beatrice as he did. Soon, the dishes were clean, dry, and put away. Jeff shut off the radio and wrapped an arm around Beatrice as they followed the others into the living room. Just as it had been for the past few years, the coffee table was covered by presents. Beatrice groaned when she saw the pink wrapping paper-covered box at the top of the pile. Jeff gave her a hug.

"Best to get the irritating one over with."

She grabbed the box and carefully tore the wrapping paper off. She opened the box, then looked over at Nick.

"They'll be home tomorrow. Just in time for the party at David's house."

David flopped down on the floor beside her as Nick gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Is there something wrong with the parties at my house?"

"No, but there is something rather disturbing about this dress."

She pulled the dress out of the box so everyone could see it. Kurt was rather impressed by it, but the other boys looked horrified that she would have to wear it the next day. Nick finally cleared his throat.

"Well, at least it got here on time for once. Open another one."

Beatrice put the dress back in its box, replacing the lid, then grabbed a new present, wrapped in lime green wrapping paper.

"I freaking love it! Thank you, David!"

She nearly tackled David, still holding on to the notebook that he had given her.

"Good. I thought you might need a new one."

Beatrice was clinging to her present.

"I did! My other one was starting to fall apart."

She always thanked each boy as she opened their present, a habit she had picked up from Nick. The next one was from Kurt: a makeup set. Beatrice acted happy, and fooled Kurt easily, but the other boys had a feeling that she wouldn't be using it that much. Blaine bought her a homework planner, one that had a black and silver cover. Trent gave her a new hat, a bright orange one that made Kurt cringe as Beatrice promptly put it on her head. Thad's gift was a set of pens, each engraved with her name. Then it was Sebastian's turn. He felt rather nervous about his gift, thinking that she would hate it, but he was pleasantly surprised.

"CD! Thanks, Sebastian!"

Kurt didn't look particularly impressed.

"Why didn't you just get a gift card so she can download music?"

Sebastian looked a bit embarrassed, but Nick spoke up.

"She doesn't usually download music. She still carries her portable CD player around, and takes her big CD player to school for use in her dorm room."

Sebastian started to feel better after that. Jeff had bought a gigantic bulletin board for her to hang in her room, and then Nick presented his present of a new backpack that matched her school uniform. Wes's present was finally unwrapped. Beatrice's jaw dropped. Wes, sitting across the table from her, was watching her reaction carefully.

"How did you get it?"

Her voice was hushed, barely audible in the now silent room.

"I actually found a blacksmith and gave him the design for it. I know how much you liked the pendant that we found at the glass blower's shop last year, so I went back this year, bought two, and had the blacksmith make the chain for each of them."

Beatrice looked up at him.

"Two?"

Wes fished his necklace out of his shirt. The design for his chain was much simpler, and the pendant was a lighter shade of brown, but the pendant was the same shape: an open book. Beatrice appeared to be near tears. Wes kept his gaze locked on hers as he explained, "The open book because of how we've always been able to connect through reading, just like you said. The dark brown, because that was the one you picked up and held for the longest time that day."

Beatrice blinked back her tears.

"Help me put it on?"

Wes nodded, so Beatrice crawled over and knelt in front of him, holding her hair out of the way. The chain had two short segments of chain dangling on each side of the pendant; and the pendent itself was of a decent size, large enough that it was a reassuring pressure, but small enough that it wasn't heavy. Beatrice, feeling the need to explain her attachment to that particular color of pendant, leaned over and whispered, "Dark brown because it matches your eyes. Eyes that have offered promises of comfort and safety in times when I needed it."

She hugged him then, trying not to cry when he replied, just as quietly as she had, "Lighter shade of brown because it matches your eyes. Eyes that have done the same and more for me."

They pulled back from each other. Nick and Jeff got up.

"Well, Little bit, we have one last present for you. It's from all of us, and we had to get the other Warblers to agree before we did it, but here it is."

Nick held out a large box to his sister.

"It's not another dress, is it?"

All of the boys laughed. Jeff shook his head. Beatrice hesitantly took the box and carefully unwrapped it. She lifted the lid, moved the tissue paper, and nearly dropped the box. She looked around at the group with wide eyes.

"Really?"

Her brother nodded. Beatrice pulled the blue blazer out of the box, running her hand over the crest on the left pocket. Nick knelt beside her.

"Turn it around", he whispered into her ear.

She followed his instruction, and her eyes grew wide. The back of the blazer had three words embroidered near the top, one under another: 'Our Little Warblette'.

Nick, seeing how stunned his sister was, gently lifted it from her fingertips.

"Arms back."

Beatrice held her arms behind her, and her brother slid the blazer onto her. He gazed at her for a moment, studying the blazer, and finally met her eyes.

"Perfect fit."

* * *

><p>By the time the group had had cake and ice cream, then sung happy birthday, and finally gone home, Beatrice was exhausted. The group had played games, watched movies, and danced around for most of the day. After her brother crawled into his bed beside her, and she curled into his side, she allowed one last thought to drift through her mind before she fell into a deep, peaceful, sleep.<p>

'Today will never be bumped out of my top three most memorable birthdays. Never.'


	24. Chapter 24

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now (very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large).

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story

Author's Note: Hello! I wanted to thank all of you who are reading this story, especially since when I started it, I was convinced that nobody would read it at all, let alone leave positive reviews. I can't begin to tell you how much that means to me, and your reviews have given me the slightest bit of confidence in my writing abilities. I would like to dedicate this chapter to all of you who have reviewed, all of you who are reading this story, and especially to weasleytwins12 (my first ever reviewer on this site), R5inmysoul (who constantly reviewed after becoming my second ever reviewer; also the person who gave me ideas that I may not have come up with otherwise [for example, longer chapters and one that had more Jeff], and got me to actually update more often), seacat03 (who told me things they liked about the chapters they reviewed on), esinger (who reviewed when it seemed like everyone else had given up on my story), Serenya (who gave me a confidence boost by describing a feeling about my characters that I have gotten from reading other stories, but never believed anybody would experience from reading one if mine), Gracieling (who made me stop and really think about exactly how Beatrice looked), and Eraman (whose reviews nearly made me squeal since I had read several of their stories before and never expected them to read mine and think it was even semi-decent). Anyways, thanks to everybody! Now, on to the story.

* * *

><p>Ch. 24<p>

Beatrice had not seen her brother for over a month. She was slowly starting to crack under the pressure of not hearing from any of her friends, and it was only October. The day before Nick's birthday finally arrived (thankfully it was on a weekend this year), and Beatrice very nearly tackled her older brother when he came to pick her up. He had come alone, wanting to spend some time with his sister and knowing that she would need to do the same. Nick barely stopped himself from falling over when Beatrice collided with him, and he found himself with a little sister who refused to let go of him. Nick was perfectly fine with this, until he felt something dampen his uniform shirt.

"Little bit? What's wrong?"

Beatrice was clutching at the back of his shirt, sobbing.

"Too long! I...I can't..."

Nick understood. He had become short-tempered with everyone the longer he went without talking to his sister; he had even yelled at Jeff yesterday.

"I know, shhh, it's okay, I'm here now."

He rubbed her back soothingly, trying to calm her enough that they could get home before she started sobbing again. Beatrice's legs were wrapped around his waist, and she was still wearing a skirt. She was so relieved to see her brother that she didn't care about being unladylike, even though she was still at school. Her tears slowed enough that Nick could get them to the car and into it; and he removed his blazer before getting in the car, handing it to his sister. She wrapped herself in it, breathing in the soothing scent of her sibling. Nick drove carefully all the way home, smiling when he put the car in park and looked over to see his little sister fast asleep, still clinging to his blazer. He shook his head, getting out of the car and going around to pick her up. He carried her into the house, tucking her into his bed and smoothing her hair back from her face as he watched her shove her nose into his blazer. He sat down beside her, happy that he was home and his sister was back where she belonged.

* * *

><p>Beatrice woke up later that evening to find herself using her brother's chest as a pillow as he read a book.<p>

"Nick-Nick?"

Nick put his book aside and smiled at his sister.

"Hey, Little bit. You hungry?"

Beatrice nodded weakly, not really wanting to move from her comfortable spot. Nick stroked her hair, smiling down at her.

"How about this; we order a pizza, eat it in the living room," Nick winked at his sister's excited squeak, "And talk about what we've been up to?"

Beatrice frowned.

"That requires getting up."

Nick laughed, used to Beatrice feeling this way when they got the chance to just relax together.

"Not until the pizza actually gets here."

His sister thought about this for a moment.

"That's better."

She wrapped her arms around him and shut her eyes. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, trying not to jostle his sister. After ordering the pizza, he put his phone back in his pocket before wrapping his arms around his little sister. They stayed that way, in silence, until the pizza came.

* * *

><p>The two siblings were seated in the living room with their pizza and cans of soda, Beatrice picking all of the toppings off of her piece of pizza and sorting them into piles on her plate. Nick patiently waited for her to finish sorting before taking a bite of his own. As the brother and sister ate their dinner, they talked about what had been happening at school. Beatrice had dozens of questions for her brother, who happily told her what the Warblers had been up to.<p>

"Sebastian's loosening up a bit, he joined us to watch a movie and actually sat on the floor for once."

Beatrice started giggling, and Nick shook his head.

"You got him to do that, didn't you."

Beatrice nodded.

"Glad you did. He needs to loosen up more often."

She shrugged.

"He's had to deal with some stuff, he just needs to be nudged in the right direction. He'll probably be better by the end of the school year; at least, as much as I can help with. It'll be up to him after that. He's starting already."

Nick smiled at his little sister.

"How do you know how to help them? I mean, Wes, Trent, and now Sebastian..."

Beatrice shook her head.

"Helping Wes was an accident."

"What?"

"I was just really tired and he seemed safe enough considering he didn't yell at me when I tipped towards him. The fact that he got something out of that was not planned by me."

"Alright...how did you know what to do for Trent, then?"

Beatrice took a sip out of her can of soda.

"I saw him sing after you guys had left practice one day. He was similar enough to me in some ways that I just...adjusted what you do for me and did it for him."

"What I do for you?"

Beatrice met her brother's eyes.

"You know how the psychiatrist thought that I responded positively to you and Jeff because you were the ones who...found me?"

Nick nodded, feeling somewhat concerned.

"That doesn't explain how Wes can pull me out of flashbacks. I think that it isn't so much that it was because you guys found me, but it's because I felt close to you before anything happened. Nick, you raised me for the most part. Jeff helped, but you were always right there when I needed you. I'm shy, yeah, but you don't make me suffer in silence at parties and stuff. You always gave me a bit more security when there were other people around."

Beatrice stopped for a minute, thinking something through.

"Nick, you're my soothing sibling, undiluted by diffidence."

Nick smiled at her.

"Beatrice...you're mine."

Beatrice walked around the coffee table to sit beside her brother, feeling more secure in his arms than she ever had anywhere else.

* * *

><p>When Nick woke the next morning, Beatrice was no longer lying beside him. It took him a minute to work out where she could be; he had even gotten out of bed and was halfway to his bedroom door before he realized that it was his birthday, which meant that Beatrice would be very cross if he tried to go downstairs before she came to get him. He sighed, padding barefooted over the plush carpet of his room and climbing back into his bed. He glanced at the clock, and its red numbers were announcing that it was just after 8am. 'Beatrice is usually finished by about 9am, so I'll just lie here and wait.'<p>

* * *

><p>Nick woke to someone tapping his shoulder.<p>

"Nick-Nick? It's time to wake up, the guys will be here soon."

Nick sat up and yawned, blinking the sleep out of his eyes until he could focus in on his sister.

"Don't I get a hug first?"

He pouted, holding out his arms. Beatrice climbed onto the bed and gave him a hug, kissing his cheek before she let go of him.

"Happy Birthday, Nick."

Nick smiled at his little sister, delighted that he could spend the day with her.

"Thanks, Little bit."

Beatrice got off of the bed and held her hand out to her brother.

"Come on, let's go eat breakfast."

The pair walked slowly down the stairs, and they were halfway down them before Nick thought of something. He gently grabbed his sister's hand to get her to stop.

"Is a certain blonde, goofy 'sibling' of ours here?"

Beatrice smiled before whispering her reply.

"Yep. He helped with breakfast. I didn't let him anywhere near the toaster though."

Nick chuckled, continuing down the steps with his sister's hand still in his.

* * *

><p>There was a considerably larger amount of food prepared for Nick's birthday than there had been for Beatrice's, simply because the Warblers were always hungrier by the time Nick's party started. Most of them would stay up late studying or goofing off, waking up too late the morning of the party to eat before going to Nick's house. Beatrice and Jeff had obviously been busy; there were several stacks of toast that were piled ten slices high, two platters of bacon, four platters of scrambled eggs compared to the two that had been made for Beatrice's party, two platters of pancakes, a bottle of maple syrup, two tubs of butter (meant for both the toast and the pancakes), and five pitchers of orange juice. A pot of coffee had been made, most likely by Jeff judging from the look on Beatrice's face when she looked at it; and the tea kettle was on the stove, most likely placed there by Beatrice since she liked to drink large amounts of hot chocolate. Nick gazed around the room, impressed by how much food had been made in such a short time. He spotted Jeff getting dishes out of the cupboard.<p>

"How long have you been here?"

Jeff set down the stack of plates that he had just gotten out of the cupboard before turning around with a grin.

"Hey, it's the Birthday boy! Happy Birthday, Nick!"

Nick chuckled when he saw the pancake batter that had dripped down the front of Jeff's shirt.

"Thanks, Jeff, but don't you think that you should change before the party?"

Jeff looked down at his shirt, chuckling when he saw the mess that he had made.

"Good idea. We've already finished your cake, and the guys should be here in about twenty minutes. You might want to go get dressed yourself."

Nick looked down, realizing that he was still in his pajamas.

"Come on, let's go find a shirt for you. Beatrice, are you alright for a bit?"

Beatrice nodded, hugging her brother before he led Jeff up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Nick and Jeff had just come back downstairs when the doorbell rang, so Jeff grabbed Nick, allowing Beatrice to answer the door. David, Thad, Trent, Sebastian, Wes, Kurt, and Blaine were standing outside, looking even more disheveled than they had on Beatrice's birthday. Kurt, remembering that the exploding cake incident had actually happened, was wearing clothes that he didn't care about as much. The group of boys grinned when they saw Beatrice.<p>

"What happened to Nick?"

"Jeff grabbed him. Come on in."

She led the boys inside, bursting into giggles when she saw how Jeff had kept Nick from getting to the front door.

Nick was in Jeff's arms, being held like a new-born, and did not look pleased about it.

"Jeff...Please put me down."

Jeff looked entirely too pleased with getting to pester Nick.

"But Nicky, I want to carry you!"

The boys chuckled as Jeff used a voice that reminded them of a five-year old begging for a toy. The pout that he was giving Nick made Nick give in and allow Jeff to carry him into the dining room.

* * *

><p>Kurt's first reaction upon entering the dining room was to nudge Blaine and ask him if there were going to be more guests at this party than there were at Beatrice's. Blaine laughed before explaining how things worked on Nick's birthday.<p>

"Beatrice wakes up early and calls Jeff, who comes over to help cook, bake, and prepare for the party. Since the party starts later than Beatrice's does, everyone is hungrier by the time they arrive, and Beatrice will have been awake without eating or drinking anything for a few hours. Jeff is in a similar situation, so they make more food than Nick and Jeff make for Beatrice's party, then the group winds up eating all of it anyways."

Kurt smiled when he saw Beatrice leap into her brother's arms moments after Jeff set him down. Wes came over to stand beside Kurt and Blaine, a smile playing over his lips as he watched Beatrice cling to Nick.

"David told me that, before yesterday afternoon, they hadn't seen or talked to each other in over a month."

Blaine was horrified.

"How bad did her flashbacks wind up getting?"

Wes shook his head.

"She apparently didn't have any. Both of them were getting a bit short with their classmates and friends though; Nick even yelled at Jeff for no apparent reason."

That got Kurt worried.

"How are they going to survive when Nick goes off to college? If one month does that, how can they possibly last until winter break?"

Wes shook his head.

"I'm not so sure that they can."

* * *

><p>Breakfast had been eaten, the dishes washed and put away, and Beatrice was now seated beside Nick as he opened his birthday presents from the group.<p>

"A boomerang, really? Jeff, you know that these are about impossible for me to use."

The group laughed, Blaine and Wes whispering explanations to Kurt and Sebastian, respectively.

"But Nick! Think of how much fun we had that day!"

Nick gave a grudging smile.

"Do you mean before or after I got a bloody nose from you throwing it at me?"

Jeff laughed aloud, looking incredibly pleased with himself.

"Come on, Beatrice patched you up and I wound up with a split lip when you threw it at me!"

Nick felt Beatrice tense beside him, then watched as she scurried towards the front door. A moment later, the group heard two car doors shut.

"Who could possibly be here, I thought nobody else was coming?"

Kurt's voice was followed by Jeff's.

"So did we. If it is who I think it is, this party just got really boring."

They heard the front door open and shut, then listened as three sets of footsteps made their way down the hall. Nick scrambled to his feet, followed by the rest of the group, and then Beatrice hurried through the doorway. She gripped Nick's hand tightly as they all stared at the doorway, which was soon allowing the entrance of two impressive looking people. A tall, thin man with dark brown hair and light brown eyes (obviously the person whom provided the hair and eye colors of Beatrice and Nick) stood beside a thin woman of average height and blue eyes, light brown hair framing her exquisite facial features. Nick tightened his grip on his little sister's hand as he nodded to the pair standing in the doorway.

"Mom. Dad."


	25. Chapter 25

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now (very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large).

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Author's Note: So, I realize that this one is really short, but it just kinda…happened after reading the reviews of the previous chapter. I'm hoping to do a Christmas chapter before we actually reach Christmas day, but I don't know if I will manage it or not. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this most recent chapter!

* * *

><p>Ch. 26<p>

Nick and Beatrice's parents were good ones, they really were, but they were gone a lot for work. They didn't know that Beatrice was making a lot of progress with her flashbacks; they also didn't know that Wes was capable of bringing her out of flashbacks. Instead of knowing the favorite colors and foods of their children, they worked hard, expanding the family fortune exponentially and ensuring that, if they so chose, Nick and Beatrice would never have to work a day in their lives. However, Nick and Beatrice wished that they could see their parents more often, especially since Nick would be going off to college next fall. Still, seeing their parents at Nick's birthday party (something that hadn't happened for about eight years) was a surprise.

"I thought that you were both in California for work."

Nick stepped forward, dragging Beatrice with him. He hugged his mother first, then shook his father's hand. Beatrice hugged both of her parents, quickly grabbing Nick's hand afterwards.

"We thought that we should be here for your last birthday before you leave for college, so we wrapped up some deals early and flew home."

"Mom, Dad, I have a friend here that I would like for you to meet."

Beatrice released her brother's hand, walking over to Kurt and grabbing his hand. As Beatrice pulled Kurt forward, Nick smiled at his parents.

"This is Kurt Hummel, Blaine's boyfriend and a former Warbler. Kurt, these are my parents, Douglas and Bianca."

As Kurt shook their hands, Beatrice rejoined her brother. The group sat back down, after bringing in chairs so everybody could sit on furniture. The only presents that he hadn't unwrapped yet were from Beatrice and his parents, so Nick decided to open the one from his parents first.

"Thank you, Mom and Dad, but why have you given me a wedding invitation with my name on it?"

Beatrice looked horrified, and the rest of the group was squirming uncomfortably, most of them knowing why he had been given the invitation when he didn't even have a steady girlfriend. Nick's mother smiled sweetly at him.

"Darling, you were getting along with Rose so well at the party, and you had a date with her shortly afterwards, so your father and I decided to meet with her parents and set up your marriage."

Nick looked ill. Beatrice, on the other hand, looked nothing short of enraged.

"How dare you! You should have talked to him before you even considered meeting with the poor girl's parents! The date that they went on ended with an agreement to remain friends, not lovers! They are not romantically compatible."

Beatrice took a breath, now standing before her parents.

"You have to sever the arrangement."

Nick gaped at his sister, as did their parents.

"Sweetheart, I know that you are upset, but pulling out of an agreement is not beneficial for those involved. The family pulling out must pay the other family for their time, and arranged marriages have helped feelings develop into love before."

Many of the boys in the room shrank back in their seats upon seeing Beatrice's now expressionless face.

"Use the money that you give me as an allowance to pay them back. I will not allow my brother to be forced into a marriage that may very well cause him misery."

Silence fell heavily over the room as Beatrice glared at her parents, daring them to go against what she had requested.

Douglas and Bianca were truly good parents. They had worked hard for years, making business deals and taking steps to ensure the comfort and safety of their children. They also understood why Beatrice was so upset at the thought of Nick being in an arranged marriage. Bianca held her arms out to her children.

"Come here, my dears."

Nick reluctantly approached his mother, standing beside his sister. The siblings were pulled into a hug.

"If you do not wish to marry Rose, you will not be forced to. We only want you both to be happy."

Douglas spoke up, feeling that it was necessary to make something quite clear to his children.

"We will not be using Beatrice's allowance to pay Rose's family. We will smooth things over with her and her family, then come home to properly celebrate Nick's birthday next weekend."

Douglas couldn't help the warm feeling that rushed through him upon seeing his children so happy about him and his wife coming home the next weekend. Bianca smiled as she took her husband's hand.

"Now, Nick, be a darling and open your present from your sister."

Nick grinned as he pulled Beatrice back over to their seats on the couch. He carefully unwrapped his gift, and nearly dropped it when he realized what it was.

_While Nick was growing up, the time that he didn't spend raising Beatrice was spent learning about photography. He read book after book about it, looked for information online; and he had watched_ _several movies on the subject. However, he never told his parents about this particular interest_, _never told Jeff that he wanted to look into being a professional photographer one day. The only person who knew about this particular dream was Beatrice, who had patiently sat through every video, listened to every fact that her brother blurted out about a particular camera or lens._

Nick lifted the camera out of the large box carefully, not wanting to break the precious item.

"How...?"

Beatrice smiled.

"I saved up a bit each month from my allowance after my tenth birthday. I wanted to get you a good camera, not an everyday one."

Nick gently put the camera back into the box before placing the box on the floor. He then turned to his sister and pulled her into a hug, refusing to let go for a solid minute.

* * *

><p>After several hours of games, cutting the birthday cake (which, thankfully, did not explode this year), and eating dinner, the boys went either back to Dalton or to their own homes. As Nick and Beatrice went up the stairs, Nick took a picture of his sister. He had decided to make sure that the first photo that he took with a professional camera was of his sister, and as he went to bed beside her that night, he knew that he had succeeded in his plan.<p> 


	26. Chapter 26

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now (very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large).

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Author's Note: So, this chapter gave me some trouble, mainly due to my lack of fashion-related knowledge. However, I was lucky enough to find a dress even better than the one I had originally imagined. The base for Beatrice's dress is at www. lightin thebox ball -gown-sweetheart- floor-length- elastic-woven -satin-evening-dress_ p289125 .html (just take out the spaces), and any changes that I imagined are written out in the story itself. I do want to point out that Beatrice is not wearing the same earrings and necklace shown in the picture of the dress. I don't have any examples, but I can say that the earrings and necklace that Beatrice wears are much simpler and are silver. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Ch. 27

As it turned out, Rose had been upset about her arranged marriage to Nick. She had informed her parents that, if they made her go through with it, she would elope with the son of the competitor to her family's business. Naturally, Rose's parents called Douglas and Bianca immediately. Both families were relieved to find that the children felt the same way, so they decided to not pay each other for backing out; making the children very happy indeed.

* * *

><p>Weeks flew by, all of the friends busier than before, but Nick made certain to bring Beatrice over to Dalton for weekends. Friday evenings were spent together, involving Beatrice watching Warbler practice while doing her homework, eating dinner with their friends, and cuddling late at night, catching up on some much needed sleep as Jeff dozed in his own bed across the room. Soon exams were finished, and they had finally started their winter vacation; much to the relief of the entire group. Wes had started his winter break two weeks before his high school friends did, and he had been helping the Warblers practice so he wasn't bored. He would sit beside Beatrice on the couch and listen to the Warblers as he helped her study. Spending so much time with Beatrice did not cause Wes to lose interest in her, however. Quite the opposite actually. Every moment that Wes spent near Beatrice resulted in his feelings for her growing stronger and, unbeknownst to Wes, Beatrice's feelings for him were growing stronger too.<p>

* * *

><p>Nick was cheerfully watching his little sister hang tinsel over any place that she could reach. They had started decorating the house early that morning, the first full day of vacation, and Beatrice hadn't lost any of her energy several hours later. Decorating their house for Christmas tended to take two full days; the first day being dedicated to decorating the inside of the house, the second filled with hanging lights outside and setting up the light show to play with a variety of Christmas songs.<p>

"Little bit, did you hang any tinsel on the stair railing?"

Beatrice went up to the third floor with five colors of tinsel looped around her arm, and Nick started selecting the Christmas carols he would be using for the light show. They had already put up the tree and decorated it, hung a series of wreaths in the front hall, hung the entire family's stockings by the fireplace, and strung tinsel in various rooms. There were several sprigs of mistletoe hung over the doorways of the dining room, living room, and den. As Nick was picking songs for the light show, his cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"_Hi Nick, it's Wes."_

"Hey, what's up?"

"_I was wondering if I could come over to visit today." _

"Sorry, we haven't finished decorating yet. Even Jeff isn't allowed to come over until the day after tomorrow, and that's if we can get the light show to function properly tomorrow."

"_Alright, can I come over the day after tomorrow?"_

"Yeah. Unless the light show gives us problems, but I'll call you if that happens."

"_See you then." _

"Bye."

As Nick hung up his phone, he wondered if he should let Beatrice know that Wes would be visiting. He decided against it, thinking that it would be a nice surprise for her.

* * *

><p>The light show, somewhat surprisingly, went together easily. After five years of having to fight with it each Christmas, Nick and Beatrice were relieved when Nick started the show and none of the bulbs burnt out or flashed at the wrong time. Wes arrived the next afternoon, while Nick and Beatrice were baking cookies.<p>

_Ding-dong._

"Beatrice, can you get the door, please? This batch is almost ready."

Beatrice skipped to the front door, feeling rather filled with the spirit of Christmas. She opened the door, and her smile widened into a grin when she saw Wes standing there.

"Hey, Beatrice."

Beatrice leapt into Wes's arms, feeling rather pleased to see him. He laughed as he caught her, swinging her around and holding her tight. Wes set her down after a moment, following her inside.

"Nick-Nick! Wes is here!"

Nick emerged from the kitchen, grinning when he saw the pair of them.

"Hey, Wes. How are you?"

Wes hugged him.

"Good. How are you?"

"Great. Beatrice said she was going to make her kid-friendly eggnog tonight, so I'm in a really good mood."

Wes chuckled.

"May I stay for that?"

Nick looked over at his sister.

"What do you say, Beatrice? Should we let him stay for eggnog?"

Beatrice nodded enthusiastically, letting out a shriek when Wes picked her up and tossed her into the air. Nick was thrilled that Beatrice could bring out Wes's fun side, and that they seemed to truly love each other.

_I wonder if they'll wind up dating soon. _

"Come on, you guys. Let's go decorate the cookies."

* * *

><p>The kitchen was spotless. The cookie sheets and other baking utensils were washed and put away, and Beatrice was perched on Nick's lap as she ate one of the cookies she had decorated. Wes and Nick were each eating a cookie, and the group was talking about the upcoming party to be hosted at Wes's house.<p>

"Mom and Dad are going overboard with decorations. I think we've got five Christmas trees up, not to mention the wreaths."

Wes let his head fall forward and lightly thumped it against the table. Nick chuckled as Beatrice giggled. Wes raised his head.

"How do you guys do it? Every year Mom and Dad wind up arguing over the decorations and the food, the music, everything! By the night of the party, they are exhausted and it ruins the entire party."

Beatrice twisted around to look at her brother.

"Should we help?"

Nick frowned.

"With which part? Their need for caffeine the night of the party, the decorating, or the food?"

Beatrice tilted her head to one side, thinking things through.

"Music and food? That way we can work with Wes and get to work on the food the morning of the party."

Nick looked over at Wes.

"What do you think? It might help your parents relax a little. I mean, they'll have a former Warbler, a current Warbler, and a girl who has attended multiple Warbler practices picking out the music, and two of the four people who made and decorated the cake for the Smythe party working on the food."

Wes stared at the two siblings. After a few moments, Beatrice hesitantly asked, "Wes?" He snapped out of his shock when he heard Beatrice's soft voice, and a smile threatened to take over his entire face.

"Guys, that would be..._fantastic_. To see Mom and Dad actually enjoying the party for once would mean a lot, I would love it if you could help."

Nick grinned.

"Then it's settled. We're helping."

* * *

><p>Wes's mother had broken down and sobbed upon hearing Nick and Beatrice volunteering to help. Wes had muttered to Nick that they should wait in his room, before comforting his mother. Nick had sat on Wes's desk chair while Beatrice flopped down on the bed, both of them having visited Wes before. Wes soon returned, looking rather harried.<p>

"Mom was going to plan more decorations before I talked her out of it."

Beatrice padded over to him, giving him a comforting hug.

"We'll get the music and food done. Things will work out, and your parents will enjoy the party for once."

Nick cleared his throat, and when Beatrice and Wes looked over at him, he was rolling up his shirt sleeves.

"Let's get to work."

* * *

><p>Wes and Nick were staring at Beatrice, who was currently darting around the room. They had finished picking out the music after several hours of debate, and had walked into the kitchen to start making cookies, pies, cakes, fudge, and any number of various kinds of desserts. Beatrice and Nick had never seen Wes's kitchen, but Beatrice had taken off upon entering it, exploring it thoroughly. She had become more and more excited as she took in the four ovens, eight burners on the stove, and two gigantic refrigerators with freezers.<p>

"Nick! We could make so much stuff in here!"

Wes was gaping at her, but Nick was laughing as Beatrice started unloading her backpack full of cookbooks. The boys joined her at the counter, and soon the kitchen was filled with the whirring of mixers, the buzzing of various timers, and an assortment of mouthwatering scents that drew Wes's mother and father to the doorway of the kitchen. They watched as the three teenagers worked, Wes stopping Beatrice at one point. When Beatrice turned to see what he wanted, he used his finger to gently wipe a bit of cookie batter off of her cheek. Wes's parents watched as Beatrice blushed and thanked him, and they smiled when Wes gave her a dazzling smile that he usually reserved for people he was incredibly close to. Wes's parents slipped silently away from the room, both considering hanging more mistletoe around the ballroom for the next evening.

It was around ten o'clock at night by the time the friends finished making food. Trays upon trays of varying flavors of cookies were stacked on the counters, three types of fudge were setting in the freezers, and a gigantic cake was decorated to look like a stack of Christmas presents with ribbon twined around it was perched on the counter beside another cake decorated with poinsettias made of icing and adorned with real sprigs of holly. All of the refreshments were prepared, the dinner was ready to be cooked the next morning, and a three-foot-high masterpiece of a gingerbread house was sitting on the countertop beside the trays of cookies. The three friends were exhausted, and Wes invited Nick and Beatrice to spend the night so they wouldn't have to drive home at night. They accepted the invitation, and soon Nick and Beatrice were dressed in borrowed pajamas from Wes. They fell asleep quickly that night, looking forward to the party the next day.

* * *

><p>After waking early in the morning, Nick and Beatrice changed back into their clothes from the previous day, gave Wes and his parents instructions for what more needed to be done to the food for dinner, and left. Nick pulled into the garage, exchanging a smile with his sister when they realized that their parents were home. Beatrice burst through the door.<p>

"Mommy! Daddy!"

Their parents came in from the living room, looking happy to see them.

"Hello, sweetheart. Hello, darling."

As Bianca pulled Nick into a hug, Douglas pulled Beatrice into a hug. They traded after a moment, then released their children.

"We're so glad you're home, we have something for each of you."

Douglas held a large box out to Nick, who tore into it.

"Thank you Mom, thank you Dad."

He hugged his parents before returning to his examination of the festive red vest, tie, and handkerchief his parents had given him. Douglas handed a larger box to Beatrice. She carefully unwrapped it, then pulled the lid off.

"Mommy, Daddy...It's beautiful."

Her brown eyes were wide as she gazed at the gown. She carefully set the box down and hugged her parents tight before running a shaking hand over the fabric of the gown. It was a floor length ball gown, a red one with green sheer fabric for sleeves and a strip of green satin around the waist. There were strips of green satin at the bottom of each tier, and Beatrice was fairly certain that she had never seen a more beautiful dress in her life. Nick knelt beside her as she pulled out the red shoes that tied on with green ribbon.

"What do you think, Little bit? Want to wear it to the party?"

Beatrice's wide eyes met Nick's.

"Definitely."

* * *

><p>Nick dressed in a white dress shirt, his new red vest and tie, and a black tuxedo jacket and pants. The dress code required for parties hosted by Wes's family could get frustrating, but they made up for it with a more relaxed atmosphere than the parties at Thad's house tended to have. Nick carefully folded his red handkerchief and put it in the breast pocket of his jacket, combed his hair, and went to check on his sister. He found her already wearing her gown, but not her shoes, and she was seated in front of her mirror doing her hair. He stayed in the doorway and watched silently as Beatrice curled her hair carefully, then pulled nearly all of it up into a bun.<p>

"Nick, can you please hold this here while I pin it?"

Nick walked into the room and carefully held the bun in place as Beatrice secured it with bobby pins. There was a curl on either side of her face not gathered into the bun, and she wrapped each of them around the bun, crossing them in the back before pinning them in place.

"Thank you."

"Of course."

Beatrice carefully put her earrings in before picking up her matching necklace.

"Nick, could you...?"

Nick took the necklace from her and fastened it. Beatrice stood, taking care not to harm her dress, then went over to her bed, sitting down and put her shoes on, tying them in place with their green ribbons. Nick held out his hand to her, which she took gratefully, and Beatrice slowly stood. She was slightly unsteady on the high heels, but her parents had gotten shoes with a lower heel than usual, which helped immensely.

"Let's go show Mom and Dad how nicely we clean up."

Beatrice laughed as she grabbed her purse that matched her outfit and had red ballet flats in it, then walked out of the room with her big brother.

* * *

><p>Douglas, Bianca, Nick, Beatrice, Jeff, and Jeff's parents were seated in the limousine, and the siblings were staring at Jeff. Jeff was wearing an outfit eerily similar to Nick's, except it was green where Nick's was red. Beatrice finally spoke.<p>

"My brother and almost-brother think way too similarly."

The boys laughed, hugging Beatrice. The limo soon pulled up in front of Wes's house, and the group got out, heading for the warmth of Wes's home. Wes's parents greeted them cheerfully, explaining that Wes was still getting ready to Nick, Jeff, and Beatrice. This struck Nick and Jeff as somewhat odd, but they chose not to say anything in front of Beatrice. They found David, Thad, Trent, Sebastian, Blaine, and Kurt near the staircase, all waiting for Wes to come down. Kurt's eyes widened as he studied Beatrice's outfit.

"I thought you said that she doesn't like skirts!"

Nick had a soft smile on his face as he replied.

"She normally doesn't, but she has to wear dresses to events like these, and she really likes this one."

Wes soon came down the stairs, his face lighting up when he saw his friends. He greeted all of the boys, then turned to Beatrice.

"Beatrice, you look...stunning."

Beatrice's cheeks turned a faint shade of pink at the compliment.

"You look really handsome, Wes."

They hugged, and when they pulled away from each other, Jeff noticed something.

"You match!"

The group looked from Jeff to Wes and Beatrice, then back to Jeff.

"Jeff, I understand that black goes with pretty much anything, but I really don't think..."

Kurt was cut off by Nick's howl of laughter.

"Wes's tie tack! Red and green set in silver!"

The group studied Wes's tie tack and realized that Jeff and Nick were right. As most of the group moved away, Kurt held Blaine back.

"I didn't know that Wes and Beatrice were dating."

"They aren't."

"But why...?"

Blaine cut his boyfriend off with a kiss.

"They have similar thoughts and beliefs about a lot of things, and the result is their clothing sometimes matching like a couple's planned outfit."

They followed the rest of the group around the room, greeting various parents and other guests, all of whom were accepting of the affection that Blaine and Kurt were showing each other. The group of girls that liked to bother Wes formed as the party continued, and Wes was becoming frustrated. He finally pulled Nick, Jeff, and David to the side.

"Nick, Jeff, I'm asking for permission from you guys before I say anything to Beatrice's dad. Would it be alright with you if I dated Beatrice?"

Jeff stayed silent. Nick stared at Wes for a moment, then nodded.

"If Beatrice wishes to date you, then I have no problem with you dating her. However, I have every right to take action if you harm her in any way."

Wes nodded.

"If I harm her, I will inform you immediately and allow you to take whatever actions against me that you wish."

The two boys hugged, and Wes looked at Jeff.

"I get to do whatever I want to you after he's through with you. Other than that, I'm alright with you dating her if she agrees."

Wes hugged Jeff, then David spoke up.

"I get leftovers from them if you hurt her."

Wes nodded.

"Here I go then."

Wes made his way over to Douglas and Bianca, growing more nervous the closer that he got.

"Sir, Madam, I was wondering if you would be willing to speak with me in private for a few minutes."

Douglas and Bianca agreed, following Wes to the empty ballroom.

"Sir, Madam, I believe myself to be in love with your daughter. I find myself smiling more whenever I am near her, and she brings out a side of me that most people never get to see, my more relaxed side. I know that her last boyfriend hurt her, to the point that if she never loved again, I wouldn't blame her. I also know that, in spite of him hurting her, she is still capable of love. With your permission, I would like to have the opportunity to date her."

Bianca smiled at Wes, who smiled back. His smile faded as he took in the calculating expression on Douglas's face. After a long moment, Douglas cleared his throat.

"Wesley, it takes a lot of courage for a young man to approach a young woman's parents in the hopes of gaining permission to date her. Beatrice's first boyfriend was not willing to wait for us to return from a business trip, and he never asked permission when he met us."

Douglas put his hand on Wes's shoulder.

"I'm guessing that you have already talked to Nick about this?"

"Yes, sir. I have been suitably warned about what would happen if I were to harm her in any way. I've gotten the same warnings from Jeff and David. If you were to ask your son, you would learn that I will be more than willing to hand myself over to them if I do harm Beatrice in any way, which I have no wish to do."

Douglas studied Wes for another minute.

"Wesley, you have my permission to date my daughter, but only if my wife and daughter agree."

"Thank you, sir."

They shook hands, and Wes turned to Bianca, who looked slightly teary-eyed.

"May I date your daughter if she agrees to date me?"

"Of course you may!"

Bianca pulled Wes into a hug, which he returned gratefully. The group rejoined the rest of the party, and Wes hurried over to his friends.

"Well?"

The three boys he had talked to earlier were staring at him anxiously.

"I have permission from both Douglas and Bianca to date Beatrice if she agrees to date me."

They pulled him into a hug, then Nick went to get Beatrice away from Trent, Thad, Sebastian, Kurt, and Blaine. Beatrice looked rather confused as to why her brother had come to get her, but her eyes grew wide with understanding when Wes went down on one knee before her.

"Beatrice, I know that we agreed not to date until we were certain that we were both ready, and you have every right to turn me down right now, but I was wondering if you would do me the tremendous honor of being my girlfriend."

Beatrice's eyes filled with tears as she threw herself into Wes's arms.

"Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes."

They clung to each other, breathing in each other's scent and feeling happiness flooding their bodies as they realized what had finally happened: they were finally boyfriend and girlfriend. They pulled apart, joining their hands when Nick, Jeff, and David came over to congratulate them. Jeff then scurried over to the rest of their friends to tell them what had happened. Soon, Wes and Beatrice were surrounded by their close friends, all of whom looked thrilled for them.

* * *

><p>Dinner had been eaten, and the guests were chatting, eating desserts, and dancing. Nick took Beatrice to change her shoes before claiming her first dance of the evening. After that, Wes danced with her for two hours; fast dances, slow dances; their bodies moving in sync without having to guess what their partner would do next. They finally were exiting the ballroom when they walked under a sprig of mistletoe. The group of girls who had been irritating Wes for so long tried to bump Beatrice out of the way, but Wes held her tight.<p>

"Only if you're ready."

Beatrice leaned up to him, then nodded. Her eyes fluttered closed as their lips met.

Fireworks. Dazzling fireworks that had to be equivalent in number to a combination of all of the fireworks used in every fireworks show up to that point in time. Beatrice gripped Wes's jacket sleeves as her knees gave out, not wanting to stop feeling the way that she was in that moment.

Wes was experiencing the same fireworks that Beatrice was. While he had kissed other girls before, he had never felt anything quite like this. However, he managed to remember that this was only Beatrice's second kiss, so he pulled away. Beatrice was clinging to his jacket sleeves, and he wrapped his arm around her waist to help her stay upright. Her eyes drifted open slowly, focusing on his.

"Did...did you see...?"

Wes smiled at her.

"Fireworks? Yeah. You?"

Beatrice nodded weakly. The girls who had been such a nuisance in the past looked disappointed, and in a few cases, angry. Wes ignored them.

"Let's go get some punch."

Beatrice beamed at him.

"Let's."

* * *

><p>Christmas day arrived, and Beatrice woke up beside Nick, feeling very comfortable in the warm bed. She yawned and stretched, taking care not to wake her brother. Despite the fact that her parents didn't approve of the siblings sharing a bed at their age, they understood that it was a tradition for the brother and sister to wake up beside each other on Christmas morning, when Nick would carry Beatrice down the stairs and into the living room. This morning was much the same, except Beatrice woke up smiling not due to Christmas, but because she was happy to be dating Wes. She waited patiently for Nick to wake up, grinning when his arms wrapped around her. His eyes finally blinked open, and he grinned back.<p>

"Morning, Nick-Nick! Merry Christmas!"

"Morning, Little bit. Merry Christmas. Do you want to go downstairs and eat breakfast?"

"Yeah. Then we can see if Mom and Dad are awake yet."

Nick got out of bed and pulled his sister into his arms. He carefully carried her down the stairs and into the dining room, where they were pleasantly surprised to see their parents sitting at the table drinking coffee.

"Morning Mom, morning, Dad. Merry Christmas."

"Morning, Mommy! Morning, Daddy! Merry Christmas!"

Bianca and Douglas smiled at their children as they greeted them.

"Sit down so we can eat breakfast, sweeties."

Nick sat down with Beatrice on his lap. Bianca brought out a platter of pancakes. The family started eating, feeling rather cheerful. They finished breakfast and wandered out into the living room, Nick carrying Beatrice and sitting down beside her on the floor. Nick and Beatrice had already exchanged gifts with their friends, but they hadn't opened them. The friends had agreed when the boys were in their freshman year that they would exchange gifts early, then open them on Christmas morning. The family tore into their presents. Beatrice was soon wearing her new slippers, and Nick was wearing his new bathrobe over his pajamas. They opened their presents from each other next. Nick was soon sprawled out on his back with an excited Beatrice on top of him.

"Thank you!"

Nick had given her a set of cake decorating bags with a large variety of tips and a book with ideas and instructions.

"Thank you."

Nick was delighted with the collection of records that Beatrice had bought for him, especially since he could finally use the record player he had gotten from his parents for his birthday after the arranged marriage mess. Beatrice climbed off of her brother and they went back to opening presents. Both siblings got a set of colored pencils and a coloring book each from Jeff, which they laughed about. Beatrice finally had only one gift left. As she carefully opened this one, Nick realized who it was from. Wes. There was a DVD inside that had a sticky note attached. 'Play me'. She showed Nick the note, and they got up and put the DVD in the player. By the end of the DVD, Beatrice was crying happy tears. Nick wrapped his arm around her.

"Do you want to go see him tomorrow?"

Beatrice nodded, burying her face in the front of his shirt. Nick picked up the box the DVD and note had come in, and saw something shiny at the bottom of it.

"Little bit, look at this."

Beatrice took the box from her brother and tipped it until something landed in her palm.

"Wes's class ring..." Her voice was filled with awe, and Nick knew exactly why.

Wes had been wearing his class ring the day Beatrice met him, having gotten it early for being on the Warbler council. She had stared at it in wonder after waking up from her nap, taking in the details of the Dalton crest on one side and the Warbler crest on the other. Wes had noticed her curiosity and taken the ring off during practice, letting her hold it and trace the designs and the engraving on the inside of the ring.

Wes had strung his ring on a chain so that Beatrice could wear it around her neck. She guided it over her head and happily traced the contours of the ring.

"Nick?"

"Yeah?"

Beatrice leaned into her brother's side.

"This might be the best Christmas that I've ever experienced."

"Good. I'm glad."

"Merry Christmas, Nick-Nick."

Nick smiled at his little sister.

"Merry Christmas, Little bit."

Beatrice cuddled into her brother's side, and he wrapped an arm around her, both content to just sit in silence while their parents talked about their business and everything they had seen in their travels.


	27. Chapter 27

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now (very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large).

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Author's Note: I know it's been a little while, but I'm kinda busy, and I keep getting distracted with other things. This is the last chapter of this story that I am going to post until sometime around May, I'm NOT abandoning it, but I hope to see all of your reviews and the like until then, and to see you when I post again. Take care!

Ch. 28

The day after Christmas found Nick dropping Beatrice off at Wes's house, but only after she had promised to call on the hour, every hour. He left after lecturing Wes about how fragile Beatrice still was, that he had better not harm her, and giving Beatrice a hug. Wes and Beatrice were now seated in Wes's living room, watching a movie. Beatrice was eating a large candy cane, gnawing at it as she stared at the television. Wes had one arm thrown over her shoulders, content to just spend some time with his new girlfriend.  
>Girlfriend. Wes rather liked the sound of that. He liked knowing that the girl who had helped him so much, seen him at his very worst, still cared for him. The fact that she was willing to date him astounded him, especially after his last girlfriend had cheated on him.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Wes had found out that his girlfriend was cheating on him from David, who had confronted her after seeing her out on a date with another guy. David, who was normally calmer than Jeff and seemed incapable of yelling at people, had waited until Wes's girlfriend left the restaurant before screaming at her that Wes was a good guy who deserved better than someone who would cheat on him, and that he was not going to keep this from Wes. The guy that she had been on a date with had broken up with her upon hearing David's reason for yelling, though he was kind enough to drive her home. David told Wes as soon as he had gotten home, calling to tell him what he had seen. When Wes showed up on his doorstep in pajamas with uncombed hair the next morning, David had called in reinforcements. <em>

_By the time Wes had roused himself from where he had fallen asleep on the floor of David's front hall, Nick, Jeff, Trent, Thad, Blaine, and Beatrice had arrived. Wes had sat down in the living room and refused to let anybody touch him for over an hour. Beatrice, who had had several flashbacks in the past week, had been sitting on Nick's lap until he had gotten up to go to the bathroom. Wes had been staring around the room, not really taking anything in, when he found himself with a lapful of Beatrice. His arms had wrapped around her automatically, and he let her bury her face in the crook of his shoulder. Wes's eyes finally filled with tears as he looked down at Beatrice's vulnerable form. He had wrapped his arms even more tightly around her waist, causing her to sit up and stare into his eyes before touching the crook of her right shoulder; nodding slightly and silently offering to let him cry on her shoulder. He buried his face in the offered shoulder, letting out a loud sob. _

_"It hurts!" _

_Beatrice's hands wound up fisted in the back of his shirt in a manner eerily similar to the way Wes's hands were currently clutching the back of her shirt. Nick had come back from the bathroom to find Wes sobbing on his little sister. _

_"What happened?" _

_The entire group was staring at Wes and Beatrice, all except for David feeling somewhat shocked. _

_"He needs her right now. She won't ask any questions or constantly offer reassurances like we have been, she'll just let him cry for a bit." _

_Blaine looked rather skeptical about this idea. _

_"Is that really going to help him feel better? I mean, it seems like she might remind him of his ex..." _

_Blaine trailed off as Wes lifted his head from Beatrice's shoulder. _

_"She doesn't remind me of her. Beatrice is...kind. She doesn't treat me differently just because I get upset; she just lets me know that she's right there when I need her." _

_Wes buried his face in Beatrice's shoulder again, and the room filled with nervous chatter from the other boys, all of them offering reassurances to Wes._

* * *

><p>Wes smiled when Beatrice started shouting at the video they were watching, informing him that the characters were doing something incredibly stupid and should be stopped. He was certain of it; Beatrice was the only girl for him<em>. <em>


	28. Chapter 28

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now (very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large).

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Author's Note: I know it's been a little while, but I'm kinda busy, and I keep getting distracted with other things. This is the last chapter of this story that I am going to post until sometime around May, I'm NOT abandoning it, but I hope to see all of your reviews and the like until then, and to see you when I post again. Take care!

Ch. 29

After Christmas break ended, all of the seniors at Dalton Academy at McKinley High became extremely busy and stressed. College acceptance and denial letters were bombarding them and the stress of having to prepare for graduation and saying goodbye to their friends was fraying tempers rapidly. Beatrice stayed at Crawford Country Day for the most part, preparing her own college applications, but her mother took the day off of work to take her to her psychologist.

Beatrice had been seeing a psychologist frequently after her attack, but now she only saw him when a larger life-changing event was approaching or had just occurred. These more recent visits were basically venting sessions; if something about a big event was bothering her, she could talk to him about it without having to worry about putting more stress on her family and friends.

"Beatrice, Dr. Pendleton is ready for you."

Beatrice smiled at the receptionist as she got up, turning off the sound on her phone before entering the psychologist's office. She was given the usual clinical smile by her doctor, which she tentatively returned.

"Beatrice, it's good to see you. Please, take a seat."

She sank onto the red couch that felt much less reassuring than the ones in the Dalton choir room. No matter how frequently she had been in that office, she always felt like she needed to flee. The memories that had been spoken had long since sunk into every surface, mere whispers that might emerge and attack her at any moment. However, Dr. Pendleton was the only person she could talk to about the coming events that would tear up her world.

"I hear that your brother is graduating soon, how do you feel about that?"

Beatrice gripped the hems of her pant legs, hoping to relieve a bit of stress so she would cry.

"Well, I'm feeling…nervous."

"And why is that?"

Beatrice took a shaky breath.

"Nick…has been there for me since I was born."

* * *

><p><em>Douglas came out of the room where Bianca had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl. His young son was being restrained by his grandmother, and he didn't look happy about it. "Nick, mom wants to see you." Finally released from his grandmother's clutches, Nick hurried over to his father and grabbed his hand. They walked into the room and saw Bianca leaning back against her pillows, a bundle of blankets in her arms. She smiled at her son. "Come meet your new baby sister." Nick was hoisted into the air by his father so he could get on the bed. He peered curiously at the bundle in his mother's arms. <em>

_Bright brown eyes gazed back at him from a pink face. Three year old Nick smiled before looking up at his mother. _

"_What's her name?"_

"_Beatrice."_

"_Bea…Beatr…Little bit." _

_Nick returned his gaze to his little sister, feeling his body fill with a warm and happy feeling as he watched her big brown eyes blink up at him. _

"_Little Bit…"_

* * *

><p><em>One year old Beatrice was trapped in her play pen, throwing a fit over the pain that her mouth was in. She was teething, and the maid that looked after Nick and Beatrice would not give her anything that might help. Nick, now nearing his fourth birthday, did not like hearing his sister in pain. The maid, currently making a snack, had already made Nick wash his hands. He looked at his hands as his sister screamed her displeasure. If he remembered correctly, his mom and dad had been rubbing his sister's gums last night when she screamed like this, their fingers calming her after a while. Nick turned his gaze on his sister and made his decision. He walked over to the pen and opened the latch, stepping in quickly. Beatrice twisted around to look at him and he knelt next to her, rubbing her back gently. <em>

"_Come on, Little Bit. Open up." _

_Nick placed his finger on his sister's lower lip then on her lower gums. He carefully rubbed the little girl's gums, hoping that this would work. After a few minutes, the screams turned to whimpers. Then, her lips closed around the finger and she started sucking on her brother's finger. Nick wasn't particularly fussed about this. He sat watching his sister's eyes droop as she relaxed until she fell asleep._

* * *

><p><em>Six year old Beatrice clung to her big brother's hand as he walked her to her class. It was the first day of kindergarten for the younger sibling, and she was scared. Nick confidently led her over to her teacher and explained what was going on before turning to his sister. <em>

"_Little Bit, I have to go to class."_

_Her arms were instantly latched around him. He rubbed her back as he hugged back._

"_It's okay…I promise I'll be back at the end of the day to take you home. You'll be fine." _

_He pulls back so he can look into his sister's eyes._

"_Be a good girl. I will be back before you know it."_

_With one last sniffle and hug, Beatrice allowed her brother to leave. She was fine until the end of the day and when Nick came to get her, she tackled him as she started telling him about her day._

* * *

><p><em>The first truly awkward hurdle that the siblings faced was when Beatrice turned eleven years old. Their parents were away on business and she had come home from school in tears. Nick had been surprised to say the least, but he let her curl up on his lap until she calmed down a little. <em>

"_The girls…they were making fun of me because I don't have a bra!"_

_Nick was suddenly relieved that he rarely blushed. _

_The next morning, Nick grabbed the emergency money from its hiding place before leading his sister to the mall. They wandered around until they found a store, then until they found the right section. Both siblings stared at the sea of bras, feeling slightly overwhelmed. Nick took a breath, grabbed his sister's hand, and stepped up to the first rack. Studying the bras in front of him, then his sister, he grabbed one and held it up to Beatrice's front. He sighed before hanging the bra up again. After several repeats of this, a sales clerk noticed the two kids looking through the bras. _

"_May I help you?"_

_Nick grabbed Beatrice's hand and squeezed. _

"_She needs a bra, and we don't know what she needs exactly, and I'm the only person available to help her."_

_The sales clerk smiled kindly at them. _

"_Let's get to work then." _

_An hour later, Beatrice followed Nick out of the store with a bag in her hand. It was filled with sports bras in a variety of colors._

* * *

><p><em>Nick and Jeff were preparing the lunch for their trio when Beatrice staggered into the room, clutching her stomach. Nick immediately sank to the floor with her on his lap. <em>

"_Blood…"_

"_Where? Little Bit, where are you bleeding?"_

_The thirteen year old girl turned dark red and pointed between her legs. Both boys looked at each other before getting to work. Jeff ran to find information on the computer as Nick calmly rocked his sister, hoping to help her. Soon, Jeff was shouting information and Nick was scurrying to find what they needed to help Beatrice. They managed to get through that first month as a group, and Nick and Jeff made sure that they saved the site that Jeff had found, just in case._

* * *

><p>"Dr. Pendleton, Nick has always been there for me. It's going to be very strange not being in the same country as him."<p>

"What about…"

There was a shuffling of papers as the doctor flipped through his papers.

"…Jeff?"

"Different country too. No one is staying in the state for school. You know what?"

Beatrice stood before Dr. Pendleton could say anything.

"I'm going to spend as much time as possible with my brothers and friends before they leave. Thanks for listening."

With that, Beatrice strode out of the office, her head held high.


	29. Chapter 29

Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now (very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large).

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Author's Note: Thanks for the great reviews last chapter! Thanks for being so patient while I was gone too; there were various things that needed to be taken care of. Also, I've noticed that I messed up the numbering of the chapters (feeling rather silly that it took me so long to figure out the problem), so I'm going to number this one what it would have been if I hadn't messed up a few chapters ago. Sorry about that mess. Hope you all like this chapter!

Ch. 29

Nick could not for the life of him understand what he was feeling. As the end of his senior year drew near, he felt his stomach knotting at the strangest moments. He had taken to carrying the camera Beatrice had given him practically everywhere, snapping photos of his friends whenever he had the urge to. Jeff, Trent, Thad, David, and Sebastian joined him in the mostly empty Warbler hall one weekend, all having felt the strangeness of getting closer to graduation.

"What do we do?"

Thad looked over at Sebastian.

"How do you mean?"

Sebastian fidgeted. Beatrice had visited her brother and friends a few times since her last trip to the psychologist's office, and she had finally gotten Sebastian to relax completely around his fellow Warblers, though he still got uneasy when he was talking about how he felt about things.

"Nick's off to France, Jeff's heading for Italy, David's going to California, Trent's decided to go to school in Japan, and you are going to New York. I'm leaving for Washington D.C. How are we going to stay friends if we're spread across the globe?"

The flash of a camera didn't even startle the boys anymore. Nick lowered his camera and looked around at his friends.

"I don't know what we're going to do either. I mean, we've got our own lives to live, but it's going to be hard when we've gotten used to hanging out all the time."

Trent's chuckle caused a few strange looks.

"It's just that we sound like a couple promising to make a long distance relationship work. 'Text me before you go to bed' or 'We'll chat on weekends'. It's a bit ridiculous."

Jeff frowned.

"Then one of us fails to call the others. We brush it off, but then another does the same thing, and another. Eventually we just drift apart and by the time our twenty year class reunion comes around, we won't even recognize each other."

The entire group jumped when David slammed his fist into the council table.

"Don't say that! We'll find a way to make it work!"

Nick shook his head.

"There isn't a way, David. Life's going to tear us apart. Heck, we never see Blaine anymore and he's only an hour away. How could we keep in touch when we're on different continents?"

David's eyes filled with tears.

"So, what, are we supposed to just split up the group now? Make it less painful come graduation? Not show up at each other's graduation parties?"

Trent had tears streaming down his cheeks as he held an openly weeping Sebastian. Thad shook his head as he stared at Nick.

"What about Beatrice? Are you going to distance yourself from her too? You shouldn't have been there for her so much if you were planning to just abandon her when you moved away."

"Shut up!"

Nick jumped to his feet, shaking as the overwhelming mix of sorrow and anger flooded his veins.

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen! I never wanted to cause her any pain. She's the reason that I worked so hard for the past twelve years, because I wanted to make sure that she would always be able to come to me. Don't talk to me about something you don't understand!"

Wes walked in just as Nick crumpled to the floor sobbing.

"What's going on?"

David angrily tried to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"We're finding out who our true friends are."

Wes looked around at the group.

"That's it, everybody up."

Upon receiving blank looks, he raised his voice.

"Now!"

* * *

><p>Wes herded the group of boys into his van, driving to an unfamiliar building. Wes was the only one who knew the importance of the building. He unlocked the double doors and ushered the group inside, closing the doors behind him.<p>

"Wes, where are we?"

Wes raised a finger to his lips before stepping into the middle of the room.

"This place is very special to me. It's where I used to come during our freshman year of high school, back before we became friends."

Wes continued, keeping his voice whisper soft.

"It's a building that's been in my family for years. Tears have been shed here for over fifty years, and this is where I want to celebrate my wedding reception someday."

Thad cleared his throat.

"Why would you celebrate such a happy occasion in such a sad place?"

Wes looked over at Nick.

"Surely you understand."

Nick thought for a moment, wondering why Wes expected him to get it. Looking up, he met Jeff's eyes, and understood.

"Because tears aren't always sad. Tears of joy…"

_Laughing as Beatrice took her first steps and stumbled into his outstretched arms._

_Dancing around in the living room with Jeff and Beatrice, all three laughing until they cried._

_Joining his friends in Trent's room for movie night and an unplanned food fight freshman year._

_Standing to applaud as Wes graduated two years early, crying beside his friends as they cheered on their pride and joy._

_Sitting in a limo and tickling Jeff as Beatrice laughed between them._

_Telling Sebastian about the costume party where they had first realized how in tune Wes and Beatrice were with each other._

_Giving Beatrice the blazer with 'Our Little Warblette' on the back for her birthday and watching her wear it proudly._

_Receiving a professional camera for his birthday._

_Cooking for Wes's Christmas party, then watching as his sister agreed to date for the first time in years._

_Just last week when Sebastian had started telling jokes and describing some of his former schools. Watching as Sebastian laughed and laughing with him and their friends._

Nick looked around at his friends.

"It doesn't matter that we're going to be in different states and countries. We have so many memories of good and bad times that we will always be connected somehow. Wes came back after graduating to see us. What's to stop us from coming back at least one time?"

Thad shook his head.

"We'll be too busy until at least our twenty year reunion and…"

"Then we see each other then. I'm sorry for yelling at you before, Thad, but I've been having trouble coming to terms with having to leave my sister behind on her own. I shouldn't have taken it out on you. Any of you."

Wes smiled.

"Do you guys get it now? We're like this old building. There are happy and sad memories inside of us, tears have been shed during our time as friends, but we still stand strong and tall as we look into our futures."

The group looked around at the spacious room they were in, marveling over how it was lit just enough by the skylight and windows to give it an ethereal effect.

"I'm telling you guys this now. I'm going to invite all of you to my wedding someday, and I want you to remember this building if you start doubting our friendships."

Wes strode over to a window and pulled out a pen. Grasping the curtain, he motioned his friends over. As they watched, he uncapped his pen and wrote on the curtain tag 'Warblers'. On the other side of the tag, he wrote 'Warblers' Warblette'.

"These curtains won't be replaced until after I've passed it on to my children someday. Never doubt that we're all connected."


End file.
